Promise
by RGZ Archer
Summary: Her pride has been defeated, and her fears are being held at bay, so it should be clear sailing now...right? Well, not quite. Rika still has one last obstacle to clear, and its not what you, or she might have expected.
1. Promise: Between Sisters

Promise: Between Sisters

AN: Alright, I had planned this out and was going to write it one way, but then, as with most of my work, it took a life of its own. My original idea was for this to be two chapters. That obviously will not be happening. I underestimated the size of what I had planed…so…yeah. Anyways, it was going to be two chapters, now it looks like it's going to be seven, with a possible eight. This first chapter will be short, but it is mainly just to set the stage for what is to come. I can tell you right now, this is NOT going to be what most of you probably expected to see, but it's still what I originally planned, just a bit longer. There will be some humor and more than just a little bit of this and that, but it will for the most part be fairly serious. Also, I know I'm WAY behind on responding to you guys and girls reviews, but I like to take my time and personalize my responses, so they might take a little while longer, as always, I ask that you be patient with me.

So, without further adieu, I present to you, the first chapter of my new story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

* * *

_Promise: Vow- To assure somebody that something will certainly happen or be done._

* * *

Humming a nameless tune to herself, Riley couldn't help but smile. Even though lunch was usually a rather dull event whenever Yamaki had to work through it, she _knew_ that today was going to be different.

After all, it wasn't too often that she had a chance to speak with any of the Tamers anymore, at least not in person. They generally preferred to avoid direct contact with Hypnos at all costs (not that she could blame them). But, she had struck a friendship with one of the Tamers, back during the D-Reaper invasion several years ago, and they had managed to maintain that friendship ever since. It wasn't anything special, just two people that happened to have a lot of common ground in life. Similar histories, similar families, similar interests, and even very similar personalities.

For Riley, it was like looking at herself from what sadly seemed to be many years ago. That is why she tried to help whenever she could, or offer little bits of advice here and there. In other words, she was an adoptive big sister.

Even though she was only two years younger than the girl's mother.

"_I wonder how it went? I bet the poor kid was half scared out of his mind, but I hope everything went ok. After everything those kids have been through, they deserve a break."_

Getting into the elevator, she hit the button for the cafeteria floor almost mechanically. She had done this so many times over the years that it was now as natural to her as breathing.

Hearing to the soft hum of the elevators descent, she thought back to the unexpected phone call she had received the week before, and felt her smile grow.

* * *

Flashback

Generally, the last thing any person, especially someone who worked where she did wanted to hear when they got home was the phone ringing.

With an annoyed groan, Riley quickly made her way to the kitchen counter and dropped the grocery bags she had been carrying before moving towards the tiny evil that usually meant a swift death to her one day a week off.

Upon seeing the name 'Nonaka Rika' flashing across her caller ID however, her aggravation was quickly replaced with confusion.

"_What on earth? Why would she be calling this late…"_

While it wasn't as though they had _never_ spoken to each other over the phone, it had been several months.

She quickly picked up the phone, and prayed that it wasn't some sort of emergency or that something terrible had happened.

"Rika? Is something wrong?" Under normal circumstances, she would have answered the phone as she always did, but given that there was a good chance that this was an emergency, she forwent the formalities and greetings.

The line was silent for a moment, but she could hear breathing, so she knew someone was there. Just when her mind was about to go into overdrive, a soft and almost unrecognizable voice spoke.

"Um… Riley…I…kind of…need your help with something…"

Her fears were once again replaced with confusion. The girl didn't sound like she was running, nor was she whispering like she was hiding, in fact, she almost sounded like she was…embarrassed?

Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, the older woman spoke.

"Uh…sure, if I can, I'll try my best. What do you need?" She asked, still more than just a little puzzled.

The line remained silent for another minute.

"I…could you…I need…_sigh_…I've got a…date…and I need…some help."

It took everything she had not to drop the phone right then and there.

"…Are you absolutely sure, that you wouldn't rather ask…you know…your mother, or your grandmother for help with…this sort of thing? Or maybe one of your friends? Jeri would be a good choice I think….I am happy for you, but…this is a bit out of my…well…jurisdiction," Riley replied, still somewhat out of it from being thrown through a loop.

"I…would…but…they would only be able to help with…general…stuff…I need…specific help."

Feeling her eyebrows disappearing into her hairline, Riley made sure to word her next question carefully.

"Specific, in what way?"

Again the line was silent.

"I need help…with…how to…I need to…know…what to do…with someone…that's…….dense."

It took a minute for her to figure out what Rika had meant by 'dense', then realized that she was referring to someone like Yamaki.

"How dense?" Riley asked cautiously.

She could hear a groaning sound come from the other line before a response.

"About as dense as you can get."

Moving to her couch, Riley made herself comfortable, and got ready for what she knew was going to be a very long, and very awkward conversation.

Flashback end

* * *

While Rika had never _directly_ revealed the name of her mystery date, it hadn't been too difficult for her to make an educated guess.

According to Rika, he was dense, a bit skittish, kind, and they were already friends.

While the first three hadn't been of much help if figuring out who it was, when fitted with the last one, it was narrowed down to only one person.

Takato Matsuki

She had of course not been blind to the way the two interacted in the past, but she had been under the impression that the Tamers young leader was already in a relationship with his long time crush Jeri.

"_Well, time does have a habit of changing things doesn't it?"_ she thought with a chuckle as she looked down at the small gold band on her left ring finger.

The conversation had been an interesting one for sure. It had taken her several minutes just to get her head back into the game and be able to think clearly enough to offer any advice at all. Once she did however, she went into 'mission mode'.

* * *

Flashback

"First of all, where are you going?" Riley asked, straight to the point by following the first law of engagement, scope out the terrain.

"We're…going…to a…pizza place…for lunch. It's the new one…a couple of blocks from the Matsuki Bakery," Rika replied somewhat bashfully.

That alone sent off warning bells in the older woman's head.

**Second law of engagement, verify troop competence.**

"Ok…is this your _first_ first date, or just your first date with _him_?" She asked cautiously, not wanting to embarrass the girl any more than she already was but still get an idea of what she was dealing with.

The line was quiet for a few seconds.

"First….first….for me….but…I don't think it's his-"

"Rika…you're not embarrassed are you?" She was careful to keep her tone from sounding too much like a lecture or teasing, but at the same time not appear to be serious.

"You mean about not being his first date? Well…kinda…yeah."

Closing her eyes, Riley exhaled sharply. _"She avoided my question completely. That's not good, if she is embarrassed about going out for pizza, then…"_

In her mind, Riley could almost see the lines passing before her eyes in big bold letters.

**Second law fail. Initiate corrective countermeasures. Reality check is go.**

"Rika, this is very important, so please listen to me carefully ok?"

A very weak 'ok' was heard through the line.

"I know that you want this to be perfect, but I'm going to tell you right now that it won't be. All that stuff you see in movies or read in books is a farce. In all likelihood, your first date will probably be the worst one you ever have in your life."

She could hear the younger girl gulping on the other end and could almost see her face paling.

"So whatever expectations or ideas you have, it's best if you just forget about them now before you get disappointed ok?"

"…will it…really be that bad?"

Riley sighed. She hated doing this, but it was for both her and the boy's sake. If her expectations were too high, it would cause nothing but disappointment and trouble for both parties.

"Unfortunately, yes. From what you told me, whoever this is you're going out with is probably going to be a nervous wreck…and scared half stupid. If you really are embarrassed that you're just going out for pizza and not something more romantic, you'll end up knocking both his ego and his pride down a few pegs. So you need to get over that."

"…o…k…."

Riley shook her head and smiled softly.

"Just remember not to set the bar so high. Pizza's actually not bad for a first date. Mine was a fast food curry joint, so you got me beat right from the start," she added, trying to keep the picture from becoming totally bleak.

She heard a weak snort from the other end, which told her it had worked.

"Now, remember, don't act disappointed ok? That will just make him even more nervous, and it might even make him give up before it even starts."

"I…guess…I mean…it's just that…well…you know…"

Riley chuckled.

"Kid, I can honestly tell you that he is going to be a _lot_ more afraid of this than you are. Remember, you hold the high ground, you have the advantage here. He's trying to date you, not the other way around. He'll try to get your attention and prove that he's worth your time. You don't have to impress him, you already did, that's why he asked in the first place. If you can remember that, it'll make things a lot easier for you," explained halfway teasingly but still trying to keep somewhat serious.

"I don't want him to think I'm judging him or something, it's a date, not an appraisal!"

Riley smirked at the younger girl's outburst.

"Ohhh protective are we? Let me ask you this, who asked who out?"

The line remained quiet for a few moments.

"He…asked….me," Rika answered quietly.

"See, I was right. He's trying to prove himself in your eyes, just like a peacock. You already have his attention. Like I said, you hold the power in this situation, but you need to be careful with that."

"Need to be careful about what?" Rika asked softly. Though her voice was still somewhat timid, Riley could hear an undercurrent of curiosity to it as well.

Riley shook her head. This wasn't just idle advice for what to do with the boy due to a specific issue, this was a class in dating 101 itself. It was painfully obvious that the girl had zero experience, and hadn't even bothered asking anyone else for help at all.

"You need to be careful about his ego. If you hurt it, it'll bruise permanently. You need to stay in control, but without making him feel like he's under the microscope, or that you're out of his league…even if both are actually true," she added the last part somewhat hesitantly.

"So…that means…what exactly?"

Torn between telling the kid to go ask one of her legal guardians for help, or buying her a copy of 'Dating for Dummies' Riley calmed herself.

"Let's start from the top ok? You said that you needed special help because he's dense. Why?"

**Third law of engagement, establish mission parameters.**

"Well…he's just…not….he's not dumb, he just tends to overlook things….a lot."

Nodding to herself, Riley couldn't have said it better. She knew that the boy was completely clueless when it came to anything even remotely 'subtle', but he was far from being stupid. Stupid people didn't outsmart government organizations; earn the trust and loyalty of hackers like the Monster Makers, or world class card players and Tamers like Rika and Ryo.

"Alright, let's work from there. If he's not going to notice subtle things, you need to do what?"

**Fourth law of engagement, insure troop understands limitations and proper use of 'force'.**

"I…guess…I need to be…obvious?"

"Close, you need to be careful. He'll be jittery, so don't do anything too big. So that means no footsy or active flirting ok? Even passive flirting is dangerous for a first date."

She really did wish that she had a video phone right now, just to see the younger girl's expression.

"Now, you want to make sure that he knows you're interested in him, but you can't be over the top. The best way to do this is by just talking to him. So, if it's someone you've had your eye on for a while, tell him that. You'll be giving him a tiny bit of confidence and it might help him calm down. Just…make sure you don't come off as impatient or…perturbed." Riley's tone became somewhat sharper at this point, recalling just how long she had to wait for Yamaki to get a clue.

"Uhh…."

"Don't sound like you're annoyed that it took him so darn long. Even if its taken him years to….just keep your tone neutral, but if at all possible, try to sound positive or at the very least pleasant," Riley clarified, having to remember that she was trying to help the girl, not harp on her own past.

"I…think I get it…"

"Good. Now, is he cute, handsome, hot, or was it his personality that got your attention?" She asked evenly.

**Fifth law of engagement, gather intelligence on enemy. **

**First law of friendship between females, gather information for potential gossip and/or teasing.**

A loud thump on her receiver told Riley that Rika had dropped her phone.

"What!?"

Keeping her tone neutral, she repeated the question.

"I asked if he looked good, or if he had a nice personality. I'm not joking with you, it's actually important."

"Well…he…he…he's not…I mean…well…he's…he's not ugly or anything…he's….kinda….well…cute. But that's not what-"

"That's all I needed. If it wasn't just his personality that got your attention, then there is something else you need to be careful about," Riley cautioned.

"What's that?"

"Don't smoke him alright? If you think he's cute, you'll try to impress him, and since this is your first date, you'll go overboard and leave him in the dust. Don't do that."

"Smoke…him?" Rika asked timidly.

"It means go all out. You're going to a pizza place, not a five star restaurant. If you come in there all dolled up he'll either keel over on the spot or get depressed."

"Ok...so…do nothing? Just go as is?"

Riley face palmed.

"As is would be an even bigger mistake. That would give the impression that you don't think he's worth the time to look nice for," Riley groaned.

"But you just said-"

"I said not to smoke him; I never said not to give him _something_ to look at. There is a difference," Riley explained.

"Oh…well…what…should I do?"

Thinking it over carefully, Riley tried to keep everything in perspective. She was trying to help, but there was a world of difference between their circumstances. It was pretty clear that despite the girl's normally calm and bold personality, she was severely lacking in confidence with this.

"I would say…just to be safe…normal clothes, but you might want to use a little bit of lip gloss…and maybe do something different with your hair," she responded carefully. She was drawing from more than just a few years of experience when compared to her friend, but at the same time she had to keep in mind that these were teenagers, not adults who were painfully approaching turning thirty as was her case.

"I'm not letting it down," Rika replied flatly.

Riley was more than just a little caught off guard by how firm the girl's voice was.

"_That's strange, why would she be so defensive about her hair? I didn't say to cut it or anything…odd…"_

Chalking it up to something personal, she tried to clarify what she had meant.

"You don't have to do anything big, just something a little different than usual is all. Guy's might be pretty dumb for the most part, but they do know we spend a lot of time on our hair. So, if he see's that you changed it, even just a little for this occasion…" she left the rest hanging.

"It…would…give the impression that I'm…interested?" Rika guessed.

Riley smirked.

"Bingo kid, you just hit your first bull's-eye. It's simply, easy, and very obvious. Just don't make too big of a deal about it ok?"

"I…ok…"

"Now, just a few important ground rules then you're done ok?"

**Sixth and final law of engagement, dispel rumors of anything that might work but actually doesn't.**

"Ground…rules?" Rika asked almost grimacing.

"I prefer to call them rules of engagement or battle protocol myself, but for some reason they're called ground rules. Don't ask me why, I didn't name them."

"Oh…"

"First, no constant smiling, it's not cute, it's creepy. Second, don't laugh at every little thing he does or says, odds are you'll accidently laugh at something you shouldn't have. Third, no constant touching, it just makes them more nervous. Fourth, remember to have fun and enjoy yourself, this is a date, not a funeral. Fifth, be yourself, and I don't mean that as a generalization. I mean don't act any differently that you would normally around him. If he's been your friend for a few years he'll be able to tell the difference."

"Um…about that last one…"

"Hmm?"

"…never mind, I'll work it out….is there anything else?"

"Yeah, one big one. Be honest and don't lie about anything. Be tactful if you have to, but try to be as honest as you can. That should be fairly easy for you considering your age though," Riley teased.

"I….thanks Riley…I owe you one…"

"Oh I know. Which is why you're going to be waiting for me in the cafeteria for _my_ lunch when your little date is over. If I'm going to help you, I'm going to want to know how it went," Riley replied with a giant smirk.

"WHAT!? You can't expect me to…you can't do that!"

"I can, I will, and I am. If you don't, I'll drop by to see you on my way home. Either way you're going to spill."

She could hear the younger girl growl from her end and smirked to herself.

"My lunch break is at two thirty, I expect to see you then, bye bye," Riley said cheerily before hanging up and not giving the girl a chance to refuse.

Flashback end

* * *

Hearing the familiar chime of the elevator, Riley stepped out and continued humming to herself. She didn't know why, but she had a good feeling about today.

Coming around the corner, she scanned the cafeteria for the easily recognizable spiky red mop of hair that was her friend. There were never too many people present, and it was nearly unheard of to see a kid in the building, so she should have been easy to spot.

Then, her heart sank.

Sitting off to one of the corners with her head on the table was Rika.

Quickly making her way to the back of the cafeteria, she could almost feel the temperature dropping with each passing step. It didn't take finely tuned woman's intuition to sense that something was wrong.

"Rika, are you ok? What happened?" Riley asked as she pulled a chair around and next to they younger girl.

"Rika? Rika?" Reaching her arm around the teen's shoulders she gave her a few shakes to get her attention.

"Huh? Oh…hey Riley…"

Hearing the younger girl's voice almost completely void of emotion, Reilly became even more worried.

"Are…is everything alright?"

Running over everything in her head, she couldn't for the life of her figure out what could have possibly gone wrong. She knew that Takato was a good kid, and that the two were good friends, closer than she was with most of her own, but something had obviously gone very wrong.

The girl swallowed and shook her head, confirming her fears.

"Do you want to talk about it? It'll help," she offered.

At first she just continued to stare blankly into space, but then she looked directly at Riley. The older woman recognized the look, but that didn't make it any less of a shock to her. It wasn't disappointment or fear, or even hurt, it was anger.

"It's….not….fair…"

Narrowing her eyes, Riley ran the statement over in her head several times. She still didn't know what had happened, but she had figured out that it was something either unexpected, or at the least uncontrollable.

"What happened? Did something go wrong?"

To her credit, Rika still had yet to shed a single tear. Her eyes were glassy, but she was holding herself together amazingly well.

So, imagine her surprise when the girl snorted.

"Just about everything, you name it, it happened. The only thing that could have made it worst is if my father had been there," Rika spat.

"_That's odd…she's angry…but…I don't think she's angry at Takato…at least not directly."_

"When you said that first dates are usually the worst ones you have, I really hope that you were telling the truth…because I don't think…"

When the younger girl pulled herself up from the table and Riley was able to get a better look at her, a few pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place right from the start.

A large dark stain marred the middle of what used to be a crisp white shirt, along with several lighter stains on the shoulders and most of the right sleeve. The next thing she noticed was that the normally spiky topknot ponytail the teen usually wore had been just a normal pullback ponytail, but it was now sprayed out and only held together by the scrunchie at the top. The last thing she noticed was that the girl seemed to be a bit damp, like she had run through some water sprinklers or something.

"Why do I get the impression that I'm not going to believe what I'm about to hear?" Riley asked with a completely deadpan tone.

Again Rika snorted.

Probably because I still don't, and I was there," she snapped.

"Ok, start from the beginning, and we'll see what we can salvage from this ok?" Riley replied as soothingly as she could.

Sighing, the young girl took a deep breath, and began to recount the day's events.

* * *

End chapter one

AN: Oh yeah, NOTHING goes easy for our favorite redhead in life does it? I know it seems like I'm focusing a lot lately on Rika, but I do have a reason for that. We already know Takato fairly well, and he's not going to change but so much from canon. Rika on the other hand is going to be changing A LOT from her canon self of the series. Not all of this story is going to be from her POV however, one of the chapters will be from Takato's. Like I said, this story will NOT be what you all expected, but rest assured, I have been planning this since I wrote 'That Night Through Our Eyes'. This story will be at least seven chapters in length, with this probably being the shortest, so don't worry about that. There will be a sneak peek of sorts for the big fic in here, and there will be a long awaited scene towards the end (take a guess what lol).

I thank you for your patience, and I hope that you all will enjoy the latest installment of my ever growing Digimon series. Don't forget to review, and yes I still accept annon reviews. You people keep me going, and help me improve. The better I get, the better story you get to enjoy reading, so let me know what you think!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	2. Promise: To Herself

Promise: To Herself

AN: Ok, I'm still trying to answer all of my reviews, I'll get to you all eventually, I…promise lol. Now, this chapter is _very_ important. It's not the date yet, that's next chapter. This chapter is Rika getting ready for the date. Now, the reason this chapter is so important is that it provides the basic outline and background for my interpretation of Rika, and why she was the way she was at the beginning of the series. There is a brief mention of her eye color, which is actually something that checks out if you're interested, just pay close attention to the first few episodes, then the last few episodes and you'll see it (at least it looked like it to me anyways). Also, if anyone is interested, the information I provide regarding Rika's family **IS ACCURATE**. The characters might be fictional, but her grandmother's family name is not. The Hata are a **REAL** clan that lives in Japan today. I actually enjoyed looking up all of the background history on them, and found some really cool stuff that will be used later for the big fic. Lastly, a bit of a warning, this chapter is a bit…dark in some places. It's not bad, but its dark compared to most of my work.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

* * *

_Promise: Pledge-Something delivered as security for the keeping of a promise, the payment of a debt, or as a guarantee of good faith._

* * *

For once in the seventeen years of her life, Rika was actually glad that her mother was gone for the week.

Not that she didn't love her, far from it actually, but there was a very big difference between her mother, and her grandmother, one that she would be eternally grateful for.

Her grandmother wasn't a snoop.

Sure, her grandmother tended to poke a _little_ _bit_ here and there, and she had no qualms with giving unsolicited advice, or making knowing comments at every turn. But she had never once tried to pry into her granddaughter's painfully small and nearly nonexistent private or social life. She trusted her granddaughter with the upmost confidence.

Besides, Rika _knew_ that Renamon couldn't, and wouldn't lie to her, which was an extra incentive most of the time.

So, when she woke up later than usual and disappeared back into her room shortly after eating breakfast, Seiko had respected her privacy and let her be.

Her mother on the other hand, would have been all over her playing multiple rounds of fifty questions regarding her daughter's 'odd' behavior for the last week, especially today.

What Rika didn't know, was that Seiko left her alone because she _already knew_ the reason behind her behavior, having overheard just enough of her conversation with Riley the previous week to put the pieces together. Still, the Hata matriarch was determined not to interfere any further, she had done enough already. From here on out would be in the hands of Rika and Takato.

Rika's 'date' was supposed to be at eleven thirty, so she had plenty of time to decide what to do, and how to go about doing it. She wasn't one to tear her room apart looking for what to wear because she already knew exactly what she owned. Five pairs of jeans, three pairs of shorts, twelve short sleeve shirts and eight long sleeve shirts. She didn't _own_ dresses, though there were several in the house her size, they were not _hers_, they just happened to be in the same room as her closet.

"_It's a bit chilly out there still, but I should be fine with a jacket. It's not like we'll be eating outside or anything,"_ she mused going back to her closet.

Looking over her three light jackets, she decided to go with her usual denim one since it was the one she was seen in most often these days. Riley had said to 'act like herself' after all.

"_Even if I'm…not the same…not anymore."_

That was another thing that had been giving her trouble with since her conversation with Jeri the week prior. Since that little 'chat' she had been acting differently from how she did in the past. It wasn't by much, but she knew her friends had noticed it. Ryo of course had been the only one brave enough to voice his observations.

But she just ignored him, as always.

While for the most part she acted and looked the same, she just didn't _feel_ the same. She felt somewhat calmer, and hadn't snapped as frequently as she would in the past. Not that she hadn't at all, just not as often or as badly. She had actually tolerated Kazu for a good five minutes before biting his head off earlier in the week, a new personal record for her. The weirdest thing though was that she even found herself mildly enjoying herself during the course of the school week. She still didn't care for school, but it had been…tolerable, like it wasn't actually a complete waste of her time.

It was strange and confusing to her, not to mention a bit frightening. She had thought that her no longer completely subdued emotions would cause nothing but trouble for her, but they seemed to be doing just the opposite. She almost felt like a little kid again. Not the 'happy go lucky innocent to the world' type, more along the lines of 'learning what to do in the big wide world' type. This was all still very new to her, and given her cautious nature, unsettling.

"_How am I supposed to act like I always did when I don't feel the same?" _She thought as she looked over her shirts. Frowning, she felt something in the back of her mind. It was almost like a sting, but nowhere near as painful.

Everything that she owned was a solid color. Straight white, blue, purple, or black. The only thing she had with anything close to a design on it was the mysterious 'broken heart' shirt that had appeared in her bag last week at the Matsuki's. She still owned the 'healed heart' shirt her mother gave her some years back, but it was too small to wear anymore, but she still kept it for sentimental reasons.

"_Why am I…annoyed? Is that what it is?"_

For some reason, looking at her rather bland selection of clothes was giving her the same feeling as hearing Terriermon snore or listening to Kazu talk. It wasn't anger, but it wasn't a good feeling either. Something just didn't seem to sit well with her as she stared at the contents of her closet.

"_Not like it matters, they're just clothes,"_ Rika decided pulling a short sleeve white shirt from her closet and tossing it on her bed. Her jeans were pretty much the same, the only difference being the one black pair she had bought some time back.

Given everything the Tamers had been through, the group had learned much over the years. One of those things was that sometimes, you had to be sneaky. They weren't a paramilitary group or anything, but they did have 'stealthy' clothing. These were just regular casual clothes that happened to be very dark, along with a black pair of sneakers. None of them owned ski masks or war paint.

Well, aside from Kazu and Kenta, but that was a different story.

The more she looked at what she owned however, the more the stinging sensation poked at her. She almost reached for her black jeans before deciding against it.

"_Jacket, shirt, jeans, that's…pretty much it…"_

Again that sting.

She had decided against wearing her red sweatbands for once, but that was a minor thing in her eyes, she doubted that he would even notice their absence.

Looking back at her clock she saw that it was close to ten, leaving her with an hour and a half before she was supposed to meet him.

"_Ok…just…calm down. You can do this, you WILL do this. I just need to keep my head on straight,"_ she coached herself.

After taking a quick shower and dressing in what she had picked out, she went about her normal morning rituals. It was oddly different though, just as it had been all week. She once again found herself staring at her reflection while she was brushing her teeth, something she rarely ever did in the past.

Now, to be fair, she did check herself every morning, just to make sure there wasn't anything on her face before going to school or heading out wherever, but she didn't do 'sprucing' either. She couldn't remember the last time she honestly paid any serious attention to her reflection, it just wasn't something she did, it wasn't her.

Her face was still fairly round, but she could see hints of her mother starting to emerge, especially around her mouth and jaw line. Aside from that however, she looked very much like her grandmother had when she was her age. Her noise was still small and somewhat angular; and her light red eyebrows were still very thin. Despite these known details, she couldn't help but feel that her face just looked…different. Even though she looked exactly like she had ever morning for the last few years, something just seemed different to her, like something was slightly off.

However, even if it seemed to be somewhat different, she still had the two main traits that had helped her earn the title of 'The Digimon _Ice_ Queen' aside from her general mood and temperament. Her skin was still several shades lighter than her mothers, not exactly albino or anything like that, but still far paler than her classmates. To her, she looked like someone who had been standing outside in the cold for too long. She actually _had_ tried tanning a little a few years ago, but it didn't seem to do anything, it was almost like her skin rejected sun light or something.

The second trait however was undoubtedly the more prominent of her features, her 'icy' eyes.

These had actually changed in the last four years, which confused her quite a bit. She knew that it was not uncommon for a baby's eyes to change color a few months after birth, but she had never heard of anything like this happening to someone her age. She also knew that it wasn't just in her head either, she had the photos (thanks to her mother) to prove that her eyes were violet when she was younger. Sometime after meeting the others however, but before defeating the D-Reaper, they had changed, going from violet to an almost amethyst color. It wasn't a huge difference, but it was one that both her family and Renamon had noticed.

"_Still…why would they…"_

Shaking her head, she spat out the toothpaste, rinsed, then set to the next and final thing on her to do list.

Taking a deep breath, she reached behind her head and gripped back of her scalp as tightly as she could with her left hand. Then, using her right hand, she carefully collected her hair together from just beneath her clinched left. While not one to primp, she was _very_ careful about her hair, very likely more so than most people her age.

When she had been very young, her father had commented on it many times. Telling her how beautiful it was. Upon his leaving her family however, those compliments were discredited, and she quickly grew to hate it.

Her hair was a very dark shade of red, not bright as with most Americans, but a deep, almost earthen shade of red. Still, this meant that she was a redhead.

In Japan.

As such, she had a 'special' set of circumstances to deal with growing up.

Since most Japanese had jet black hair, or even the odd dark bluenette that popped up every now and then, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she wasn't exactly 'completely' Japanese, and that she was the result of mixed parenting. This, when combined with her father having left her family, had made things especially difficult for her growing up. She hated her father, she hated him with every fiber of her being, but what she hated the most about him at that time was that he had cursed her with _his_ families genes, that he couldn't have at least had black hair.

In most countries, children that were obviously of mixed parenting had it difficult; they were never completely accepted by either side. In any Asian country however, they were outright ostracized. This was only further compounded by the fact that she went to an upper scale private girl's only school. So not only was she 'the odd one out' but she was 'the odd one out' of a bunch of snobby stuck up rich girls.

Needless to say, school was not a source of enjoyment for her.

Ever.

Picked on relentlessly, she quickly changed from the happy and cheerful little daddy's girl she had been growing up, into what she was now. A tough as nails mean as a snake and just as happy to strike you tomboy.

Still, even with threats of pain, and carrying out said threats of pain, the near hazing levels of teasing had continued.

This of course only increased her hatred for her father. To her, it was a lasting score, a mark of him that would stick with her until the day that she turned grey or she died. It wasn't enough that he abandoned his family, it wasn't enough that he had left her mother a sobbing wreck for weeks, it wasn't enough that he had destroyed a piece of both she and her mothers hearts that would _never_ completely heal, it wasn't enough that he had turned her fifth birthday into a black day for the rest of the family.

No, he had to mark her so that she was denied the chance to have even a single friend growing up. Those who didn't outright target her avoided her, not wanting to be 'marked' as targets themselves.

Her temper continued to grow, she continued to get into trouble, and her mother wasn't even there to help her, having poured herself into her job to get away from it all at the time.

She actually didn't resent her mother for this, she knew, despite being only five years old, she knew that as badly as she was hurting, her mother was hurting far more than she could imagine. She could see it in her eyes; she could even sense it whenever her mother was home. Even now she would admit (if only to herself) that if she had a job back then, she would have done the exact same thing.

But she couldn't, she didn't have a job to burry herself in, she didn't have friends to play with and tell her things would be ok.

She had school.

After a full year and having established a 'rap sheet' most convicts would have been proud of, she finally had enough.

She was only six, and she was emotionally distraught, so her logic wasn't exactly the best at the time. But she had a plan to make all of the pain, and all of the teasing go away.

Her father was the source of all this, it was the fault of her fathers 'mark' that she was picked on, so, if she removed the proof of him, if she removed his 'mark' it would all go away.

So, one night, after waiting until it was very late, she snuck from her bed and into the bathroom with a pair of her grandmothers sowing scissors.

Looking at her reflection now, she could almost see the moment play over again in her mind, she could still see her reflection from that night eleven years ago, when she took a tight hold of her shoulder length hair with one hand, and raised the scissors with her other.

Only to have them pulled out from her tiny hands.

* * *

Flashback

"Rika, sweetie, if you wanted a haircut you should have just told me, you know that," her grandmother said with a warm tone. It was obvious that she knew what the six year old was planning, but she was trying to disarm the situation, not 'fan' it.

Looking for all the world like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Rika looked away in shame. Without saying a word she jumped down from the sink counter and started for her room. She wasn't surprised to hear her grandmother call out to her, but she was surprised by what she had said.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you stay up with me for a little while? I've been having these awful dreams lately and…well, I wouldn't mind some company," Seiko asked with her usual warm and tender voice, the one that could guilt even the most hardened of people into willingly doing her bidding.

Rika stopped cold. On the one hand, she wanted to run back to her room and cry at having been caught, but on the other, she remembered all the times her grandmother had stayed up with her whenever she woke up from a nightmare.

It was hard for her, but she did it. Turning, but still not looking up to meet her grandmother's eyes, Rika nodded her head and followed her.

The two were soon in the den, with Rika waiting for her grandmother to return with warm tea. Her mind was a flurry of emotions, all negative in varying degrees, but she was determined to at least try and repay her grandmother for helping her through her own difficult times in the past.

The older woman soon returned and sat across from her after setting down the two small cups.

After a few minutes of silence, Seiko made her move.

"You know, it's not such a bad thing to be different."

Snapping her head up, anger clearly evident, she was cut off when the older woman continued speaking, determined to finish before the younger girl could mount any sort of 'defense'.

"It's actually pretty common with our family it seems," she finished with a sigh.

That did it.

"No its not! You and momma never had anything like this!" Rika hissed.

The older woman remained calm, but shook her head and smiled sadly.

"Actually Rika, both your mother and I went through the same thing, we just happened to be a bit older, and it was for…different reasons," Seiko admitted.

This made the young girl blink in surprise.

"Really? Why?" She knew that her family wasn't perfect, but she couldn't remember ever hearing her mother or grandmother ever mention anything like this before.

The older woman thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain something as complicated as discrimination in any form to a child that was only six and it make sense.

Even if it still didn't to her.

"Well sweetie, a lot of people didn't like that your mother was marrying someone who…wasn't like herself, someone that wasn't born here in Japan. As for me, well, let's just say that your grandfather's family didn't think I was _good_ enough for him," she answered carefully.

"Why?"

There it was, the question she had dreaded.

Seiko shook her head and closed her eyes before responding.

"I really don't know why, but I wish I did. To be mean to someone in any way just because they are different…I hope that when you grow up, you're not like that, that you don't become the same as _them_," Seiko answered sadly as she looked back down at her tea.

The young girl's face still showed anger, but now it also had a flash of determination to it as well. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that she would _never_ let herself become like _them_.

"I promise grandma, I won't be like that," Rika quickly replied, the comments of some of her classmates still _very_ fresh in her memory.

Seiko smiled warmly at her young granddaughter before rising to sit beside her.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, and I hope you keep that promise. It would have made your grandfather very happy to hear."

The young girl once again blinked in confusion, which caused Seiko's smile to grow even further. She couldn't help it, but her granddaughter's face was precious whenever she would get confused. Her eyebrows would scrunch together; and her eyes would narrow, combined with the way her lips would pout it made the perfect picture of innocence.

Seeing that she had the younger girls attention, Seiko decided that perhaps it was time for Rika to learn a few things about her family's history. Not too much, but just enough for now.

"How about I tell you a story, and then you go back to bed, ok sweetie?"

The younger girl nodded, still confused by what her grandmother was saying, but she was happy just to have something like a friend, even if they weren't her age, to talk to, and listen to.

Flashback end

* * *

That had been an important night for both her and her grandmother. While they had gotten along well enough before, they had never exactly been close. She had grown up a daddy's girl before he had left, and had then sealed herself off after he did.

But that night, for the first time in over a year, she opened herself up to someone.

Her grandmother had told her much that night, some of which she was _still_ trying to understand even now, but one thing had become very clear. If she _ever_ became like the girls she went to school with back then, she would do well to throw herself under a bus.

She had learned that _long_ before her mother and father had met, long before they had even been _born_, her family had already been immigrants. Nearly three thousand years ago, her family had actually lived in Korea, and then moved to China where they lived for several hundred years before finally settling down nearly two thousand years ago in Japan.

Her father hadn't made her an outsider, he couldn't have; he had only made her slightly different. After all, how could she blame him for making her 'mixed' if her family's roots had never even been Japanese in the first place?

After everything she learned that had happened to her family over the generations, after learning everything that made them who they were today, she knewshe had no excuse to judge others because of their family's history. To do so would be the highest form of hypocrisy imaginable.

That did not mean she had to be nice to them however, just that she couldn't attack them or berate them for no good reason. Stupidity and annoyance both fell under 'good reasons' in her book.

After that night, she and her grandmother continued to grow closer. Rika was very thankful for her taking the time to be her friend, for being there for her whenever she could. So, in return, she tried very hard to learn more about her grandmother, her hobbies, her interests, and what she liked to do so it wouldn't always be one sided.

That was how she became interested in her family's history, and through that, the ways of old.

Many would be very surprised to learn that her grandmother, despite her age, was a skilled practitioner of Subak, an art that had been taught to her by her mother when she had been very young. She used it to, in her own words 'keep from getting old'. After a little bit of convincing, Rika had even managed to convince her to teach her a few kata as a way to cool off and work out her aggravation without hurting anyone.

As more time passed and the two continued to become closer, and Rika learned more about what her grandmother had gone through in life, she became even more interested in learning about how in the face of everything that had happened, including all the turmoil her father had caused, she had maintained such a calm and peaceful air to her.

Once again, her grandmother surprised her. It turned out that she had learned how to _act_ that way for her late husband's sake, to help appease his family, something that had taken many, many years to accomplish. She said it was 'proper' manners of an age gone by, and that it took a great deal of effort and dedication to learn and maintain.

Of course the older woman knew why her granddaughter was curious about this, and while a part of her was glad that she was trying to find a way to get through each day with her class mates, another part of her was saddened that she was so much as thinking about suppressing herself or her emotions to such a degree.

It had taken Rika a good long month of begging and pleading, but her grandmother finally gave in to her request, and taught her the secret of 'masking'. Several more months had passed, but before the school year was half way over, she mastered the art to the extent she had wanted.

While her grandmother could cover all traces of emotion at will, Rika had only wanted to learn how to cover pain and hurt.

Not anger.

She changed that day; she was no longer the same Rika she had been. She was colder, almost unshakable, and nigh unapproachable. From that day on, for a number of years, the only person to ever see her without her 'mask' or her 'armor' was her Grandmother. Not even her own mother was given that honor; though Rika would on occasion go without her 'mask' she never lowered her 'armor' in her presence. As time passed, she learned how to lower pieces of it at a time when around the select few people she trusted, but had never been willing to completely lower it, not even for Takato or Jeri.

Still, despite the fact that Seiko was the only one she would never conceal her 'true' self from, she had wanted to find a way to thank her grandmother for teaching her, she wanted to find a way to show her just how much her help had meant to her.

After spending several days looking up information on the era her grandmother had been teaching her about, she found what she believed to be a satisfactory answer.

Though Rika never told her exactly _why_ she did it, she didn't have to.

The next morning, when Rika emerged from her room for a quick breakfast before heading off to school, _it _was there.

At first Seiko had simply smiled warmly and stated that it wasn't necessary, but she did appreciate her granddaughter's gesture.

A year later however, she understood just how thankful Rika had been, and the strength of the young girl's conviction.

Now, ten additional years later, Rika still wore her hair up in a modified topknot, almost exactly the same way someone in her family would have in the ages of old. She had surprised both her mother and her grandmother with just how dedicated she had been with this silent display of gratitude. As far as any of them knew, Rika had allowed no one outside of Renamon, her mother or her grandmother to see her hair down willingly in over eleven years.

That was why she was having so much difficulty at the moment. She had never sworn or made an actual agreement to such a thing, but it was her way of showing her grandmother her gratitude, and she wanted to keep that promise if at all possible.

After ten more minutes of staring at her reflection, Rika made her decision.

"_Well, it's not like I've been wearing it _exactly _right to begin with…I…guess…it should be ok…I just need to keep it up and together."_

Trying to keep it as close to her standard topknot as she could, Rika picked up her scrunchie and tied her hair into a tight narrow ponytail that started close to where her usual topknot did.

It might have looked almost identical to her normal hair from the front, but all one had to do was see her from the side or back to notice the difference.

How she managed to make her hair look as if it hadn't grown an inch in four years was a secret between her and Seiko, but she had grown her hair out more than just a little since back then. She still had it cut, just nowhere near as often or as short.

Turning to the side, she looked at her reflection carefully, and frowned.

"_That's not too much…but…Riley said it wouldn't hurt to do something a little bit different."_

Seeing that her ponytail reached down well to her shoulder blades made her a little bit nervous. She let her hair out only around her family's home, and even then only late at night.

Still, she had to admit that she liked the look, even if only because it was something different from the usual.

Looking over at the clock on her bedside table, Rika's eyes widened in alarm.

"_How long was I staring at the mirror for?!"_

Rushing back into her room, Rika snatched her jacket and threw it on while at the same time quickly stuffing her feet into her shoes.

"_Kami I'm going to be late! There's no way I can get there in ti-"_

"Renamon!"

The yellow fox appeared before her, calm as ever.

"Yes Rika?"

"I need a big favor from you, can you get me to the…the pizza place by the Matsuki's," Rika asked catching herself just in time.

The yellow fox nodded her head silently, though Rika knew something was going on in her head.

"I'm heading out grandma! I'll be back in time for dinner!" Rika shouted as she stood from tying her shoes and grabbing her D-Arc out of reflex.

"Alright sweetie, but you'd better be home before six, your mother wants to eat dinner with us tonight remember?" Seiko shouted back.

Rika grinned.

"Yeh, I know grandma, I'll be back long before then!"

"_This should blow her socks off. For once I actually have something to tell her when she asks how my day went that she'll understand."_

There was no doubt in her mind, today was going to be a great day, she knew it, she could feel it.

"Let's go Renamon!" Rika shouted over her shoulder as she ran out from her room and into the yard.

The vulpine warrior silently scooped up her Tamer into her arms, and darted for Lower Shinjuku at top speed.

* * *

End chapter two

AN: So? What did you think? Interesting find, but its one hundred percent true, Rika is not of Japanese descent, but Korean (going really far back) there are some additional facts about this I'm not ready to divulge yet, as they will be somewhat important to my big fic. Still, I think its cool that she's based on an actual group of people rather than made up completely. As for her having difficulty growing up due to being a mixed child, I sadly know this to be true from personal experience. I'm not 'mixed' but I do have family that is, and I did my research before using this, so I know it checks out that Asian countries are particularly bad about it. I thought it did a good job of explaining her personality from the beginning of the series though.

I hope the wait was worth it, and that you'll continue reading this thing until it's finished. There will be five, possibly six more chapters. Please let me know how I'm doing though, reviews are what help me improve and what keep me going!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	3. Promise: Between Friends

Promise: Between Friends

AN: Ok, first of all, I made a mistake last chapter. Rika is sixteen, not seventeen. I forgot that this story takes place back in February, so her seventeenth birthday is still a month away. Secondly, this chapter was NOT fun for me to write. I have zero experience in the field of dating and was writing two characters that have never been seen in this type of situation (at least not in canon). So I had nothing to use as a base. Unlike my other works, this entire chapter was written using nothing but other fanfics and my imagination as source material. I did collect a series of 'horror stories' from people I knew about bad dating experiences to use for ideas, but I was only able to use the situations and events to help here, not the people as models for Rika or Takato. Basically, this chapter was murder on me lol. I don't think it's my best work, but I do hope that it's good enough to meet ya'lls expectations, and that I didn't fall several miles short of fulfilling them.

As always, I will continue to work on answering reviews, but I'm still a bit backlogged. I have at least three from Endless Waltz I haven't been able to get around to doing yet, so please bear with me. I WILL answer you eventually!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

* * *

_Promise: Signal of something- An indication that something is likely to happen._

* * *

Rika could feel her stomach starting to twist into knots as she saw just how close Renamon was getting to their destination. Sure, she was the Digimon Ice Queen, she was Rika Noanoka, she was the girl that could take down guys twice her size in a fight.

But this was the first time she had ever been on a date.

This meant that the entire experience was something new to her, and if she was being completely honest, it was more than just a little bit scary.

In fact, it was downright terrifying.

"_Ok, keep calm, just remember what Riley and Jeri said, I already have his attention, he already…likes me, I just have to make sure he knows I'm interested in him…as more than just friends."_

Though her face was deadpan, Rika snorted mentally.

"_Great, while I'm at it, I think I'll cure cancer and solve world hunger,"_ Rika thought to herself darkly.

She felt her pride kicking in, threatening to give her a swift kick in the pants if she continued down this train of thought, but she just couldn't help it. She was a teenage girl going on her first date, with a boy who happened to be her first friend outside of family no less. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the piercing blue eyes of her partner focused intently on her worried face.

"Rika, while I am still...unsure as to what exactly you are doing, I hope you remember that Takato _is_ your friend before anything else. He trusts you just as much as you trust him. So don't sell him short."

Brought out of her fear induced trance, Rika nodded slowly and forced her fear down into the back of her mind. If her emotions had been a massive thunderstorm all week, they were a swirling maelstrom of chaos now. But her partner did have a point, and it cut through her warring emotions like a tempered steel blade.

"_She's right; Takato's never let me down before, not once. If things get too weird, he'll understand."_

Landing about a block away from the small pizzeria, Renamon set Rika down with a pensive look on her muzzle. After contemplating for a moment, she gave a few parting words before disappearing from view.

"Rika, do not forget who you are. You _are_ the Digimon Queen, even if no longer by title. It's who you are. You've never backed down from a challenge before, and I've never known you to let something slip away if you _really_ wanted it."

Had she been in a clearer state of mind, Rika would have known immediately that something was up. Her partner had always helped her out in the past, but it was rare for her to do so in such a direct manner.

Nodding her thanks and giving a small, but appreciative smile, Rika marched towards the restaurant with as much courage and confidence as she could muster.

Roughly the same amount one would expect from Calumon.

* * *

Upon entering, Rika flinched as her ears were assaulted by what could only be described as a sheer wall of noise. Not that she wasn't used to things getting loud, considering the fact that she lived in upper Shinjuku and happened to hang around with a bunch of boys most of the time. But at least they spent most of the time outdoors. This place had speakers every few ceiling tiles _and_ was an enclosed area.

"_I've been to concerts that weren't this bad,"_ she thought idly.

Catching what she was starting to do, Rika again forced down the ball of fear that was her nerves into the depths of her mind. It had controlled her for far too long, and she was determined not to let them gain control of her again.

"_Ok, you can do this. Don't be afraid, remember, he's your friend, he's stuck by you more than anyone that's not family, and even then he's done better than _some_,"_ Rika thought as she quickly banished the image of her so called 'father' from mind.

With a new found resolve, Rika moved forward and scanned the area looking for her 'date'. She knew it was a seat yourself restaurant, but there were people coming in behind her so she needed to move. As she traveled deeper into the rows of booths and tables, a familiar mop of brown hair came into view, along with something else, something yellow.

"_Well…I didn't expect that,"_ Rika admitted mentally as she took in the sight before her.

She had been so nervous about making herself look…presentable, that she hadn't had time to think about how her date was going to look. In the back of her mind she had imagined something more formal than usual, or just a bit neater than was the norm. It really wouldn't have been anything major, but as things were, she was caught off guard.

Sitting in the booth before her, dressed in a faded black tee-shirt and jeans was Takato.

Looking just like he always did.

Exactly like he always did.

Goggles, sweatbands and all.

"_Ooooook, I thought for sure that he had been out a few times with Jeri. Would it have been too much to ask for him to leave the goggles behind just this once?"_ Annoyed that she had spent at least some time 'primping' before coming, while Takato had just shown up as is, Rika gave him the benefit of the doubt and brushed the matter aside. They were good friends after all, so he might not have seen any reason to pretend to be something he wasn't.

From where she was standing, the teenage boy looked slightly nervous, but for the most part he actually seemed to be out of it. He might have been looking around, but he wasn't paying attention to anything or anyone in particular. She could have marched pass him with a brass band and he wouldn't have noticed her.

At least not at first.

So imagine her surprise when he looked up, and blinked several times before dropping into an expression of shock.

"Ri..Ri…Rika? Is that you?" he stuttered. Takato's red eyes were large and unblinking. At first she thought he was stuck or frozen, but years of taming had given her a sharp eye for movement. That's why she had to force herself not to swallow when she saw his eyes subtly move from her face to her feet, then back to her face.

Ok, so a small part of her did enjoy the dumbfounded look on his face. Unfortunately it had come at the price of raising her self consciousness by several notches.

"_Ok, that's never happened before…is that normal?"_

Once again she was trying to weigh out what she knew versus what she hoped. She didn't know what the look in her friend's eye was, but she knew that she had never seen it before.

"_This is just getting weird."_

Deciding not to bring her friends odd behavior to attention, she quickly sat herself opposite of him and pulled her slowly leaking composure back together.

"I…uh, lost track of the time, sorry I'm late," Rika apologized, trying to break the ice and put an end to the odd silence that had somehow settled between them despite the background noise.

Takato quickly shook his head and waved his hands.

"N-n-not a problem, d-don't worry about it, I've only been here for like, five minutes, so it's no big deal. Honest!"

Rika noticed that his voice was getting both squeakier and faster as he continued to speak. Not by much, but it was noticeable. Again, she felt a tiny spark of pride light up inside of her while trying to ignore her rising self consciousness.

"_Great, I was hoping he'd say something I could work with. Come on girl, THINK! He's your best friend, the two of you used to talk all the time!"_ Running over the painfully limited number of topics she had to choose from, Rika made her first attempt.

"So, any good ones this week?"

Takato blinked for a minute trying to figure out what she was asking before responding intelligently.

"Uhh…"

"Wild Ones Gogglehead, geeze. Did anything worth fighting pop up? All I got this week was a DemiDevimon," Rika explained.

The red eyed teen snickered.

"Ah, so _that's_ why Renamon was in such a bad mood Thursday huh? She got Demi Darted?" Takato asked with a small knowing grin.

"_Good, good, he's talking; just keep it going nice and smooth. I've known him long enough that that shouldn't be too difficult…right?"_

Keeping her grimace internal, Rika snorted.

"Let's just say that we're both glad Impmon wasn't there to see it. She'd probably have uploaded him by now if he had."

Again Takato snickered, but his face quickly turned solemn.

"Well, we did come across one Wild One…but…"

Sensing that something was bothering him, Rika lowered her 'armor' slightly. Not by much, but just enough so that he would know she was being sincere.

"What happened? Did someone get hurt?"

Looking up at her, Takato sighed.

"Well…we kind of…upset a few kids. It was…an Agumon. It bioemerged over by the elementary school…during recess," Takato answered with a frown.

It only took her a second to figure out the problem.

"He wasn't hostile…was he?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Takato shook his head.

"Not at first, he was just playing tag with them. Me and Guilmon watched him for a little while, hoping he'd leave and go somewhere else so we could fight him. But…he didn't. After he got tagged…things got…rough."

Rika saw a flicker of pain flash across her friend's eyes, and once again felt something inside of her twist sharply.

"After a few minutes went by and he couldn't tag anyone, he started getting…feral. He was getting ready to fire a Pepper Breath at one of the kids, so…Guilmon…had to…stop him," Takato explained.

Knowing first hand just how powerful Guilmon was these days, and the fact that Takato had designed him to be more powerful than Agumon to begin with, Rika was able to figure out the basics without much difficulty.

"He took him out with one hit?"

Takato nodded sadly.

"Yeah, Pyrosphere to the back. It digitized him instantly, so he never got off the attack."

Watching her friend's expression change from down to nearly depressed, Rika felt her own mood waver.

"_And I bet those kids…"_

"When they saw me…they…they got angry. They started shouting stuff like I had killed their friend, and that I was…a monster."

Rika raised her chin from the tops of her hands she quickly moved one of them under the table, tightly clinching it into a fist. She had to keep her composure here. Even if it was in his defense, a slip of control right now could spell disaster for them both.

"We left…but…they kept shouting at us….one of them…a little girl…she just…started crying." Stopping, Takato looked back up at Rika's eyes, not even trying to hide the hurt from her.

"Takato, it's not your fault. It's our job to protect people like them, even if they don't understand. You know that better than anyone," Rika reminded him, while at the same time trying to assure him as best she could.

"I know that…but…still…I just…always feel so bad when its…one of 'them' that we have to fight you know?"

Rika nodded, knowing very well what he was talking about.

Whenever one of the digimon from the TV show, especially one of the digi-destined partners came through, it was always a chip on their conscience. She might not have watched the show that much, but she knew how much some kids had come to care for the characters, even if they weren't real and the events had never happened. There were never any 'evil' Agumon, or Gabumon in the show, so they thought that those digimon were always good.

Working her control as best she could, Rika let out some of her emotions to try and help her friend. He needed it right now, and she still owed him quite a bit for the last four years.

"Takato…I know how you feel. Remember last year? When Renamon had to take down a Flamedramon at the same school? I got called every name in the book those little brats knew at the time. In fact, they still cut me dirty looks whenever I go by there."

The pain in Takato's eyes shifted to anger for a brief moment before shifting back to pain.

"How do you deal with doing something like that? Doesn't it…well…eat away at you?"

Rika shook her head.

"I learned a long time ago how to ignore stuff like that. The kids get to me sometimes, but only because I don't like making them cry. You just have to remember what is more important, and that you have a sworn duty to protect them. Remember the mess Yamaki and his goons put us through when this all started?" Rika asked sourly.

Takato frowned.

"He was only doing what he through was right."

Holding out her hand towards Takato, Rika raised an eyebrow.

"And that's different from what we're doing…how?"

Thinking for a moment, Takato's expression changed to a much calmer one. The pain wasn't completely gone, but it had lessened considerably.

"That was…pretty good Rika…where'd you learn to talk like that? Fortune cookie?" Takato asked evenly, though with a hint of wit at the end.

Rika smirked.

"You're joking right?"

Almost able to see the giant question marks above his head, Rika groaned.

"You really are a Gogglehead aren't you Takato? I learned it from you, years ago."

Seeing the confused look on his face shift as his jaw dropped, Rika was just starting to enjoy this 'date' when the cosmos forcibly rebalanced itself.

"Sorry for the wait, we're a bit short handed today. What can…I…get…you…"

Both Takato and Rika slowly turned to face the source of the familiar voice. You could almost hear the bones in their necks cracking as they did.

"AH! What are you doing here?! You really are following me aren't you?!" Takato shouted accusingly.

Rika groaned, silently wishing that she could sink into her chair and disappear from the world as her friend and 'date' made a scene. No one was actually looking at them, but again, this was her first date.

Standing before them, looking none too pleased, dressed in a dark red and green uniform was Ms Asaji.

With a twitching eyebrow, the tamers teacher coughed into her hand twice and cleared her throat.

"If you're not ready to order I can give you a few more minutes."

Jaw open and finger still pointing, Takato remained seemingly frozen in time.

"Medium cheese, hand tossed, no sides," Rika spoke up trying to cover her face as best she could with one hand.

Noticing the young redhead for the first time, the older woman's eyes shifted to Takato, then back to Rika before she raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," Rika 'explained'.

The older woman wrote down the order before asking what they wanted for drinks. Since Takato was still 'frozen' Rika just ordered them both Pepsi.

Almost a minute after she had left, Takato was still frozen.

"Oh for the love of-" pulling back her leg, Rika gave the boy a swift kick to the shin, and successfully snapped him out of his frozen state.

"Yeouch! Rika! What was that for?!" Takato demanded.

"You were acting like a statue for so long that I had to make sure you were still breathing," Rika defended with a simple shrug.

The boy rubbed his sure to be bruised shin under the table while shooting Rika a mild scowl.

"You've still got your plates on, those things really hurt," Takato muttered.

Rika replied with an 'hmp' which basically told him to let it go, as he wouldn't be getting any sympathy from her.

"But what is she doing here! Is she stalking me or something?"

Rika raised an eyebrow at her friends 'conspiracy theory' nature popping up again. He wasn't actually that bad when compared to the others, Henry and Kazu in particular. But for some reason, the boy was convinced that his teacher had it in for him.

"Takato, she's a teacher. They make less than most janitors. She's probably working two jobs just to make ends meet. It's really not that big a deal."

The boy crossed his arms and snorted.

"Just to make ends meet my eye. She's hiding something, I know it."

Rolling her eyes, Rika asked the question she knew she was going to regret.

"How do you know that?" She asked with a bored monotone.

The boys jaw dropped again.

"How could she not!? She's a teacher _and_ she's single. If she's working two jobs then that means she can't have a life, so why would she need two jobs to pay for anything?"

Sighing, Rika went to work at sealing away the boys ever growing suspicions regarding their teacher. Although even she had to admit that at times, the woman seemed to appear out of thin air.

"She's probably trying to pay back her student loans. Collage isn't cheap you know," Rika pointed out.

"I still say she's hiding something," Takato replied firmly.

"Oh yeah? What makes you such an expert on Ms Asaji? You've been spying on her or something?" She hadn't meant it, but she had come off more than just a little bit challenging in her question. Being slightly nervous from the general situation, then annoyed with Takato's paranoia, she snapped.

She was surprised however when Takato shrank back before quietly answering her.

"Because…everyone does."

She didn't know what hit harder, his reply, or the look in his eyes when he said it. Once again she had underestimated her friend and his perception of things around him, namely her. Knowing that she had to respond quickly or suffer the consequences, she answered him in a way that was for the most part neutral. The waters still hadn't been tested yet, so she wasn't quite ready for _that_.

"True, but its not always something bad," Rika replied softly trying to keep her self in one piece. That single line was the closest she had ever come to an admission in her life, not counting the ones Jeri dragged out of her from time to time.

With that, the air was quickly filled with the dreaded awkward silence. Neither party seeming to have an idea about what to say as a follow up, or wanting to change the topic and seem rude.

Finally having enough of the awkwardness, Rika fired off the first thing she could think of, which she would soon come to regret.

"So…what…made you think of asking me out here of all places?" She asked uncomfortably, again trying to get a conversation started, something she was still learning how to do.

The moment the boy's eyes widened, Rika _knew._

At first, she felt like something was trying to fall apart inside of her, but she could feel her pride holding it together, along with that familiar red cord.

"_He…didn't…he wasn't…he…only…asking me…out as a…friend."_

Once again thankful for her grandmothers teachings, she quickly raised her emotional armor and mask back into place. She was _not_ going to let things get awkward between her and Takato, not if she could do anything about it. Besides, while he might have only asked her out to eat as friends, that didn't mean she couldn't turn things around. She had spent an entire week getting ready for this, and there was no way on Kami's green earth she was going to let it go to waste.

"W-what do you mean ask out? I-it's not-it-" The poor sputtering boy was spared further embarrassment by Rika's cutting in.

"_Looks like I've still got a ways to go, I can't believe I did that! STUPID STUPID STUPID! He's my friend; he was probably just worried about the whole cross biomerge from last week."_ Steeling herself and shoving her pain back down into the quickly crowding pit of her mind; Rika switched from her cold mask to her teasing one, and started her act.

The act of a lifetime.

"AH HA! So I _was_ right after all, you WERE in love with me weren't you?"

Takato's sputtering came to a halt as his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"It only took you what? Four years to get around to asking me out? And here I thought you had just about pledged yourself to Jeri," Rika mixed a wave of teasing with a few drops of sarcasm to quickly spin a web to catch them both from falling any further. She had come too far, and she had done too much to let this fall apart now.

The Tamer's leader turned a lovely shade of fire engine red, then a shade she had never seen before, but guessed to be 'burnt black cherry'. Right when it seemed like he was going to pop, Rika 'dropped' the act, and switched 'masks' to her calm and 'normal' self, with just a hint of teasing to keep it realistic.

"Geeze calm down Gogglehead. I was just teasing you. Terriermon was right, you really do need to lighten up, you'll live longer," Rika 'teased'.

The minute the words left her mouth, Rika saw a change in her friends face. It was only for an instant, gone in the blink of an eye, but she caught it. It was something between confusion and disappointment, but leaning closer to confusion.

"_So much for our 'date'. But at least now I know he was worried about me…"_

It took another minute for him to calm down his breathing enough to speak, but when he did, she was surprised by his question.

"Why would you think that this was…a…well…date?" Takato squeaked.

Looking back up and meeting his eyes with her own, Rika mulled the point over in her head. It took her a second, but she caught on to his question, and nearly lost control of her 'mask' when she did.

"What are you talking about? It's just lunch Gogglehead. You're reading too much into it," she retorted calmly.

"_How did he do that? Does he know? What the heck is going on here?"_

The boy's eyes narrowed a bit before returning to normal. He still had a suspicious look to him, but seemed to accept her response. She wanted to say something, anything to throw him off of her trail, but thankfully someone else did.

Ms Asaji had at last returned with their drinks.

Takato quickly looked away while Rika again covered her face with one hand, but at least dared to meet the older woman's face out of the corner of her eye.

She was calm and impassive, but floored Rika when she gave a knowing wink.

"_Oh Kami, the entire teaching staff is going to know about this, I know it,"_ Rika groaned mentally.

"This is so going to come back and bite me, I know it," Takato muttered.

"What? That you were seen eating lunch with one of your friends?" Rika shot back with an accusatory tone. She was under a lot just coming here, but after what had just happened, her limits had been reached.

"Uh, yeah, a friend that happens to be a GIRL, do you have any idea what everyone is going to think?" Takato whined.

Feeling her face heat up, Rika's pride came too late in preventing her anger from slipping out of control.

"And just _what_ would be so bad about that?" She hissed.

Takato's head snapped up. At first she could see nothing but confusion, but then, she saw it.

Fear

"Is it really such a horrible thing to be seen with _me_ out in public? Is that it?" Rika demanded.

Waving his hands Takato tried to quell the gathering storm.

"No! It's not like that; I just don't want…you know, I don't want to hurt Jeri. If someone starts something around the school about this, it could really hurt her," Takato defended.

In the back of her mind, Rika could hear her pride laughing haughtily, and was sorely tempted to do so herself.

"_If only you knew Gogglehead, if only you knew."_

"Then we'd tell her the truth. Who do you think she'd listen to, us or them?" Rika gritted from her half clinched jaw. Her pride seemed to have switched sides on her again and was now helping her anger.

Takato groaned before replying, seemingly unaware that all he was doing was digging himself a deeper and deeper grave.

"I know she'd listen to us, but it would still hurt her. And you know how hard it is to kill a rumor once they get started. I just don't want to put her through all that," Takato replied defensively.

It was taking every ounce of self control she had not to scowl and kick him in the shin again.

"_So what about __**me**__ you big jerk!? You're doing a bang up job of hurting me!"_

She tried to focus on and remember the fact that Takato was extremely dense, but it still hurt. Even after a month of Jeri calling him 'brother' and referring to him as 'family' he just couldn't seem to take the hint. His inability to see what was plainly in front of him, or accept what he thought he was seeing had nearly eaten its way through her last line of emotional defense.

Knowing that she had to blow off some steam, or else she was going to blow everything, she fell back on her least cruel method of doing so. Pointed sarcasm.

"Yeah yeah, protect the _princess_." She mocked 'teasingly' before becoming very serious.

"You _do_ know that she can look after _herself_, _right_? You don't have to be there to hold her hand _every_ minute."

Takato's face became slightly downcast as her barbed words lashed at him like a whip. She knew that she _should_ have felt bad for causing it, but she didn't. He had 'hit' her too many times in the last few minutes, and she knew that if she didn't lash back now that it would be ten times worst later.

"Yes I _do_ Rika. It's my fault she lost her partner, and I owe it to her. I have to…I have to be there for her. She doesn't have a partner anymore…so…"

"So? What makes her any different then every nontamer out there? None of them have partners, but you don't go around holding their hands do you?" Rika lashed out again, driving her 'whip' as hard as she could.

"Because its-"

"If you say that it's your fault that Leomon died, I will get Renamon to bring Jeri here right now so all _three_ of us can throttle you. She told you, and the rest of us told you. It was _her_ choice, it was _her_ decision, and it was _not_ your fault. It's in the _past_, so get over it," Rika seethed. She was reaching critical, and knew things were about to get ugly. Not only was he ignoring her completely, but he was still seeing Jeri, someone she almost considered to be a sister as being helpless and weak.

"Rika…you know that…I told you me and Jeri…"

"Yeah, she said _something_ and now you're not going out. What, you think she's going to worry that you're forgetting about her, or moving on just because she would see you with me? Hello, anybody upstairs? I've known the _real _you for longer than she has," Rika dug in. Takato might have 'known' Jeri for longer, but she had known about Takato being a Tamer longer.

"Yeah, by like, two days," Takato muttered.

"That's still longer, and so what? I'm a girl, big deal. I'm not ashamed of it, I'm proud of it. You need to grow up Takato, you're acting like a little kid."

"I am not! You take that back!"

Rika only shook her head in response.

"It was my fault that Leomon died." Seeing that Rika was going to cut him off, Takato plowed right over her and continued.

"I was the team leader, I was the one that everyone trusted to take charge and to keep the team together…and I failed _over_ and _over_ again the whole time we were there."

"_Wait a minute…is he…is he actually taking…"_

"It's a leader's job to make sure _everyone_ comes back, it's a leader's job to make sure _everyone_ is safe. They're _supposed_ to be at the front, they're _supposed_ to be the ones who are at the most risk, _not_ the least. I couldn't keep us together, and I couldn't hold back Beelzemon," Takato shot back angrily.

"_I get it…he…really has…matured. He's not blaming himself for Leomon's death because he was too weak or because it was 'his fault' that Jeri came, he's blaming himself because he was the one in change, because he was the leader."_

Feeling a new sense of respect for her friend well up and cool off her anger, Rika reached out and grabbed his hand tightly in her own. Her anger was still there, but she had a temporary handle on it.

"While that _might_ be true, it's also the leader's job to _learn_ from their mistakes. And you _have_ Takato, you've learned a lot. You might make a lot of mistakes, but I've never known you to make the same mistake twice. You're doing a good job, you're a good leader...and…you're a good friend, better than me anyways…sorry for…you know," Rika apologized, feeling ashamed for jumping to conclusions about her friend for the second time in less than a day. Renamon had reminded her not to sell him short, and that was just what she had done.

The entire time she spoke however, from the moment she grabbed his hand, she had to fight to keep a blush from spreading to her cheeks. She wanted to do this. She had decided long ago that she would be the one to give him that 'kick' whenever he needed it. But sometimes it didn't take quite as much force.

She could feel his limp hand tighten in hers, and saw him smile in appreciation.

"Than-"

"Takato?" A familiar male voice asked.

"Rika?" A familiar female voice asked.

"What are you doing here?" Both asked.

Rika and Takato quickly yanked their hands back and snapped their heads toward the source of the voices. Knowing, but hoping not to see exactly what they did. The confused, and unfortunately very familiar faces of two from their inner circle of friends.

"Henry?" Takato asked nervously.

"Suzie?" Rika asked, sounding much like a deer in the headlights.

The two groups of two looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment before another familiar voice cut through the air.

"Henry, Suzie, is the booth open?"

Leaning to his side and outside of the booth slightly to see who had called out to the two youngest members of the Wong family, Takato's face paled another five shades.

"Oh, uh, hey Mr. Wong…it's been awhile hasn't it?" Takato asked shakily.

Rika also dipped her head out from behind the protective back of the booth and hazarded a peek.

Sure enough, it was the _entire_ Wong family.

Including Terriermon and Lopmon.

"Rika? What are you doing here with Takato?" Terriermon asked suspiciously the moment he saw her face.

"_Oh great, can this day…you know what, forget it, I'm going to go ahead and tempt fate. Can this day get any worse?"_

The four older members of the Wong family calmly approached the booth, and both Rika and Takato could feel their insides squirm.

"Hey Rika, Takato, how's it going?"

Rika did her best to hide behind her fake smile, hoping that it was convincing enough.

"It's going, how about you Jaarin?"

The older girl took off her glasses and wiped them as she replied with her usual half bored tone.

"Pretty much the same as always. Dealing with idiots all day gets old."

Rika smirked at the older girls comment.

"At least you get paid right?"

"What about you Takato, what are you two doing here? Did I miss an e-mail or something?" Henry asked, still confused about why the two were seemingly alone at the restaurant.

None of them saw Janyu and Mayumi exchange knowing glances.

"Uh, no, you didn't miss anything," Takato replied nervously scratching the back of his head trying to figure out how to explain what was going on.

"We're just hanging out, it's been awhile since we did anything, and we thought we'd try this place out," Rika replied evenly. She knew that it wasn't a total lie, in fact, it was the absolute truth. She just hoped the others believed it.

"Yeah right, looks like Takato finally got the guts to ask her out," Terriermon joked before getting a knuckle rapping courtesy of Henry.

"Terriermon."

"Ouch! That's not fair Henry! You know I was only joking, I just wanted to see how big Takato's eyes would get, see?" Terriermon pointed at the Tamers leader who was currently doing a very good impression of a fish.

"Why is it that everyone thinks we're on a date? We're just friends! Is it wrong for two friends to just go out and grab a bite to eat?" Takato asked with a face palm.

"When they are of opposite genders, generally yes," Rinchei teased.

"Ugh, whatever. Like I said, we're just hanging out. So far I'm not too impressed with this place though. The service is horrible," Rika replied, trying to change the topic.

"So, if you're just hanging out…can we join you?" Suzie asked with what Rika knew was a completely fake innocent smile.

Rika shot the younger girl a glare, which bounced off of her like bullets would on Superman.

"Uh, I guess…it would be a tight squeeze though," Takato replied with a frown.

"Suzie, honey, why don't we just get our own booth?" Mayumi asked, trying to disarm the situation.

Suzie pouted and went into her 'domination mode' as Terriermon dubbed it.

"O…k…I guess. I just wanted to see my friends is all…"

Inside her head, Rika was rolling her eyes and groaning. She knew that it would work, it _always_ worked.

"Hey, why don't we just get a table? That would work wouldn't it?" Jaarin offered.

"Yeah! Come on Takato! Eat with us! Please please please please?" Suzie begged with her male subverting puppy dog pout.

It was like watching an ice cube get thrown into an open fire. Any and all resistance the boy might have had evaporated instantly.

With a warm and genuine smile, Takato nodded.

"Sure, that'd be great, right Rika?"

"_Wimp, I can't believe you keep falling for that,"_ Rika thought as her eyes narrowed by just a hair.

"Sure, I guess. It's better than just sitting here waiting for the food," she replied with a shrug. She had to bite her tongue though when Suzie grabbed Takato be the arm and dragged him out of the booth.

* * *

The group, now of ten pulled two of the tables in the back together to make one long table. Henry, Rika, Takato and Suzie sat on one side, with Janyu, Mayumi, Rinchei and Jaarin sitting across from them.

"Hey Terriermon, where are you going?" Henry asked when his partner hopped from his shoulder and glided over to Suzie's free shoulder.

"Where I can get more food, duh! You're stingy."

Henry's face scrunched.

"Just because I don't let you eat everything off my plate does not make me stingy," Henry defended.

Rika ignored the short bout of banter and focused on keeping herself calm. She didn't care for the apologetic looks Janyu and Mayumi were sending her, the suspicious glances Jaarin was shooting her from the other end of the table, or the triumphant smirk Suzie was positively beaming with.

"So, what are you guys doing here? Just trying the place out like us?" Rika asked, trying to keep things from getting even more awkward, despite not being able to see how that was possible.

Janyu smiled and nodded over to his eldest son proudly.

"Rinchei, why don't you tell them yourself?"

Henry's older brother grinned and leaned over the table.

"Well, apparently there was a scout for the Saitama Broncos at my team's game last week. He was so impressed with my performance that he managed to convince the teams coach to visit himself."

Rika ran the information over in her head for a few seconds before it clicked.

"The teams coach visited you in person?" Rika asked, not quite believing the elder Wong boy.

"Yeah, he did, and I pretty much just froze up when I answered the door. If mom hadn't been there…well, I don't think I would have gotten the offer. He'd probably have just left me standing there in the doorway," Rinchei admitted somewhat embarrassed.

"So what happened? They're a professional team aren't they? You've got another five months left before you finish your classes don't you?" Rika asked, not really caring, but not wanting to be rude.

"Yeah, that's the cool part; they offered to hold a seat for me until I'm out. All I have to do is finish up my class's and I'm set," Rinchei beamed.

Rika gave a small nod of approval. It wasn't much, but it was the most praise anyone not friends with her would get.

"That's really cool. If you make it big, you'd better autograph a bunch of stuff for us, you know that right?" Takato joked.

Before the older boy could respond the waiter returned with Takato and Rika's order and placed it in the middle of the table. When she saw the others at the table however, she groaned.

"What is it with you kids? Why can't I ever get away from you?" She lamented upon seeing Terriermon specifically.

"Hi Ms Asaji, I didn't know you worked here too," Jaarin said with a grin.

"Just the late afternoon shift on Saturdays and early afternoon shift on Sundays," she responded while massaging one temple to ward off her growing migraine.

"Ah, I have mornings for Monday through Wednesday."

"Hey! What's it take to get some food around here? I'm starving!" Terriermon piped up with an evil glee directed at the poor woman.

"Terriermon….so that's why you moved over there," Henry muttered when he realized that there were three people between him and his partner acting as unwitting shields. Terriermon's only response was a grin.

The family gave their orders, all except Terriermon and Lopmon who would just share off of their plates (much to the woman's relief) and she quickly left.

"So what about you two? How often do you do this?" Jaarin asked, casting a sideways glance at Rika.

"Uh, not that often anymore, its been awhile," Takato answered, trying to remember just how long it had been since the last time he and Rika did anything together.

"We used to hang out a lot more, but we just got busy. It's been awhile since things were this calm, and we decided to take advantage of it," Rika added.

"Oh, so it's like when Henry and Jeri hang out?" Terriermon asked trying to stealthily steal a slice from Rika and Takato's pizza.

Takato's head turned to face the bluenette so quickly that it was sure to give him whiplash. His face might have been calm, but his eyes said plenty.

"It's just to help her train a bit, nothing more. She uses me for a sparing partner every now and then. Its no big deal," Henry defended with a shrug.

Takato groaned.

"Am I the only person in our group that doesn't know some form of kung fu?"

"Pretty much Gogglehead. Aside from the brainless duo," Rika 'stabbed' with a smirk.

"To be fair Takato, Rika is the only one that actually knows 'kung fu' the rest of us its just martial arts," Henry corrected.

Slamming his face into the table the red eyed leader groaned again.

"Same difference, all of y'all could kick my butt in a fight….except Kenta."

"I wouldn't kick you butt Takato," Suzie offered, trying to restore her idols faith in himself while at the same time cutting her brother and Rika a glare.

"I wouldn't either," Rika added calmly.

"Huh?" Takato rolled his head to the side with a confused expression at hearing Rika's supposed admission.

"I'd whop it," she 'clarified' with a wolfish grin, earning another groan from Takato and nearly causing Terriermon to fall from his perch on Suzie's shoulder from laughing.

The group settled into mild conversations. Rika noticed that Henry was casting wary glances at both her and Takato ever so often but tried to ignore it. It wasn't exactly what she had hoped for, but it was still better than nothing.

She guessed.

Suzie was chatting up a storm with her hero, while Rika just tried to keep up her act of boredom. She was halfway tempted to try and goad the younger girl into an argument for fun, but something was holding her back. She couldn't get the pained look Takato had in his eyes from Terriermon's slip up out of her head. She knew that Jeri looked up to Henry as an older brother, but she wasn't sure if trying to convey that to Takato would cause more harm than good or not. It was almost like anything that made Jeri stronger somehow took something away from Takato, making him weaker.

Not knowing what to do, and not having anything really to say to anyone present, she was seriously starting to consider leaving right then and there.

Then, it happened.

"Hey guys…is it just me, or does something smell funny?" Terriermon asked, taking several sniffs of the air around him.

"Huh?"

"Terriermon, this had better not be another one of your jokes. I told you, they're not funny," Henry warned.

"No Henry, he's right, I smell it too, it's almost like…"

Before Lopmon could finish her sentence, a loud cry came from the kitchen.

"FIRE! FIRE!"

In the blink of an eye, the entire restaurant became a madhouse.

People were screaming and shouting as the restaurant quickly started to fill with smoke. Trying to get up and leave was like trying to wade through a stampede. Pushing and shoving, some of the younger patrons were knocked to the ground and nearly trampled to death.

"We've got to help them! Come on Terriermon!" Henry shouted as he tried to keep himself from being knocked down by the frightened patrons.

"You too Lopmon!" Suzie called out to her partner, pulling out a blue card to help.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Janyu shouted above the cries and shouts of the others.

"Why not! Dad, we have to help-"

The air was suddenly filled with a new sound, one much louder than the hysterical crowd of people trying to get out through the exits.

An alarm.

Which was soon followed by a sputtering flicker.

Of water sprinklers.

"That's why," Janyu finished.

If anything however, that only made things worse.

Feeling her 'danger' sense go off, Rika tried to move but was too slow. Several people shoved by her trying to get to the exit. Since she had just stood from her seat, the only place for her to go was forward.

Crashing onto the food covered table.

"Uhg! When I get my hands on you, you'll pay for that!" Rika shouted pushing herself up with a large scowl on her face.

Nothing had worked out the way it was supposed to today, _nothing_.

Takato hadn't actually asked her out on a date, it was just lunch between friends. She had been embarrassed multiple times because people had believed that they were in fact on a date, which wouldn't have been as bad if they actually were. Then after the Wongs showed up, she had to endure boring conversations mainly centered on sports and the Wong boys 'big chance'.

Her ears had been abused the entire time by the loud music.

Her pride had been abused the entire time because of her own misunderstanding of the situation and Takato's denseness.

Then, to top it all off, in the span of two minutes, she had been deafened, rained on, shoved like a sack of rice, and then pushed onto her now soaking wet cheese pizza.

And now she was getting cold.

"_It's a joke; it has to be some kind of cosmic joke. What deity did I anger? What heathen God have I dishonored? Is it fate, or just plain bad luck? What did I ever do to deserve this,"_ Rika though, feeling her control slipping away inch by inch.

'Come on, let's get out of here!" Takato shouted grabbing her by the waist and hoisting her up to her feet.

Not needing to be told twice, the two were followed by the rest of the Wong family as they joined the crowd making their way out of the smoke filled and water logged building. Rika was moving behind Takato, who despite not being very large, was doing a fair job acting as a shield to keep people from shoving into her or knocking her down. The Wongs followed behind her in two's, with Henry and Suzie in the front, Jaarin and Rinchei behind them, and Janyu and Mayumi bring up the rear.

* * *

It hadn't taken the Fire Brigade long to arrive, just a few minutes. By then however the fire had already been put out by the restaurants fire system. There had been no fatalities, and no serious injuries. A few people had been stepped on and one of the chefs had a mild burn from where he had tried to put the fire out.

Rika and Takato, along with the Wongs had been sitting together in a secluded area trying to dry off and stay out of the wind.

"I hope this isn't a sign for what's to come with your career Rinchei," Jaarin said as she twisted her hair trying to get most of the water out.

"Hey! It's not my fault! You heard the chief, it was a grease fire," Rinchei shot back.

"Well all I know is that my clothes are ruined!" Jaarin shouted with a stomp.

"Both of you knock it off now! We're all a little on edge, but that's no reason to snap at each other." Janyu Rarely raised his voice, especially to his own children, but when he did it had the same effect as a drill sergeant. Even Rika found herself standing a little bit straighter than she had a minute earlier.

"_It's official, I'm cursed. No way around it, I'm cursed. Every time me and Takato do anything without the others I almost end up getting killed and he has to drag me up like a deadweight,"_ Rika groaned to herself as she remembered the horror that was her thirteenth birthday.

"Some day huh Rika?" Takato asked jokingly.

Chuckling mirthlessly, Rika nodded in agreement. "You can say that again."

Watching as the crowd of people began to grow, the Tamers and Wong's stated to discreetly make their leave. There was sure to be a news crew arriving soon, and that was one of the two things they tried to avoid aside from Hypnos. They didn't need the media blowing this out of proportion by trying to connect it to the Tamers or digimon, they had enough of that to deal with when it actually was their fault.

"See ya around Henry!" Takato shouted with a wave as the Wong's started towards a bus stop, leaving just Takato, Rika, and the awkward silence that clung to them like a half starved lamprey.

Taking a deep breath to summon what control she still had, Rika spoke.

"So, when do you…like…want to do this again?" She asked as calmly as she could.

Takato sighed and shook his head.

"I don't think we should do this anymore Rika, at least not without some of the others. You saw how much trouble it caused when they thought it was…a…well, you know," Takato said, skirting around and avoiding the word 'date'.

Again Rika felt her heart clinch, and the last of her control finally shatter.

She tried to keep her tone civil, but after everything that had happened, she couldn't keep the venom from leaking through her voice.

"So what if they did?" She spat.

Looking up at her once again with a confused frown Takato spoke.

"Rika, it's not fair to Jeri, you know that. If word got around that we were…dating, even if it wasn't true, it would tare her apart. I can't do that to her, I'm surprised that you actually don't seem to have a problem with it; she's your friend too. What's wrong with you Rika?"

That, was the final straw. Before she was only going to respond honestly, but now, now she was on the offensive.

Turning away from her friend, Rika shouted.

"Renamon!"

The yellow fox appeared next to her Tamer instantly. She had been watching the entire time but kept her distance, even when the fire had started. The only reason she hadn't intervened was that she knew it would only cause more panicking, and possibly place the blame of the accident on the Tamers.

"Yes Rika?"

"Renamon, I need to speak to Gogglehead, in private, _now_," Rika hissed.

"As you wish," she replied before pulling both Rika and Takato into her 'between' realm.

Everything around them slowed down until it came to a dead stop. The people, the birds, everything just stopped before fading to a much darker color. It wasn't black, but it was very dark considering that it was only a little after noon.

"What the, why am I here again? Rika, what's going on?" Takato asked, now even more confused than before.

Rika was still facing away from the red eyed teen, but he could see that she was shaking, something that was never a good sign.

"You…just….you don't…you're such a Gogglehead…"

Now confused _and_ worried, Takato tried to figure out what was going on.

"Hey, what's up with all the 'Gogglehead' today? I thought you were calling me Takato now remember?" He asked walking up to her and putting one hand on her shoulder.

The girl spun on her heel to face him while at the same time knocking his hand off of her like it was a serpent and backed away several steps. This combined with the raw seething anger radiating from her amethyst eyes and sneering scowl made him feel very _very_ small all of a sudden.

"Because you are a Gogglehead!" Rika roared before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"I can't believe you're so dense! How is it that you keep missing it? How do you not get it?! Jeri is not made of glass! She's not going to break just because some rumor gets around that we're dating! You go on and on about her like some lovesick puppy, and you know what?! I can't stand it anymore!"

Pausing to asses the damage her words had done, she took a grim note of satisfaction in seeing that he was starting to put the pieces together.

Too bad for him.

"It's been four years Takato, FOUR FREAKING YEARS! She's not the scared and fragile little twelve year old you knew back then. And I'm not the cold and hardened Ice Queen that I was! WE GREW UP! ALL OF US DID! EVEN KAZU! The only one who hasn't is YOU!" Rika spat.

In a rare display of courage, Takato revealed is backbone. It wasn't nonexistent; it was just very rare that it made itself known. Trying her best to make the boy understand, Rika had accidently triggered his temper.

"What the heck is wrong with you!? You're telling me that I haven't changed, well so what?! That's better than what you've turned into! You've been lying to me all day!"

Rika's eyes widened. She knew that something had been off with the boy, but not exactly what.

"Yeah, that's right Rika, I KNOW when you're lying, and you've been lying since the minute you sat down in there! What happened to you?! Out of everyone I know, you were always the most honest, you never lied to me, NEVER! But now, I don't think you've said a single honest thing to me since yesterday! Then, to top it all off, you try to pin it on me like I'm in the wrong!"

Narrowing her eyes, Rika's pride took over. Anger had been met with anger, and the ensuring blaze only feed her rage.

"Because you **are**! Geeze you're such a Gogglehead! Don't you _ever_ think before you speak?! I spent half of last Sunday getting interrogated, poked, and prodded by Jeri until she cracked me!"

"What are you talking about? Jeri would never do anything like that! How could you even say that about her!?" Takato demanded.

"Because it's true you idiot! You can ask her yourself! She was trying to help me, and I was thankful for her doing it! At least before half an hour ago I was, but now I wish I had never called her in the first place!"

Seeing that Takato had been stunned into silence, Rika 'dug in her claws'. Before it was only out of defense, but now she was going for the kill.

"I was worried about you and Jeri, and after I spent the night at your place I had a lot on my mind. So I called her the next day, and we met up at the shrine," Rika started. Her fingernails were biting into her palms and her breathing started turning raspy.

"When I got there, she pulled what had been eating away at me for…a long time out…I hated her for it, I wanted to hurt her…but then…I…I was happy…she had done it."

Takato watched as Rika went from 'I doom you' Demon Mode, to being almost weak and insecure. He had seen both sides in the past, though one more than the other. He counted himself as being lucky that he was one of the very few to have ever seen the true her, the one she hid deep behind her many layers of emotional safeguards. But he could never remember a time when it was because of him that she showed it, it had always been when she needed comfort because of something else.

Never because of him.

"She…told me something…about myself…something that…I already knew…but…refused to accept." Lowering her head, Rika's face was hidden behind her bangs. Even if she was baring her soul to him, she refused to let him see her cry.

"At…the…same…time….she…she…"

Taking a deep breath, Rika tried to push the pain she was feeling as deep as she could. She knew that if she stopped now, she would never be able to try again.

"She asked me….she asked me to take…to look…to…help…she…"

Clinching her first, Rika channeled her anger and rage to force the rest of her emotions down. She wanted to feel, but right now she needed control. If that meant sacrificing the ability to feel, than so be it.

Raising her head to reveal her eyes blazing with renewed fury, Rika scowled at the poor unsuspecting boy and closed the remaining distance between them.

"She asked me to do her a favor for her, a favor between friends, and sisters."

Now even more confused, Takato was grasping at the wind.

"I wanted to do it…I really did…but now," shaking her head, Rika stopped just a few inches in front Takato.

"Now, I'm not so sure anymore. I'm not even sure if you're strong enough for me to help. But I know now that you're not strong enough to help me. Why Jeri thought you were I'll never know. As far as I can tell, you can't even help yourself, much less someone that really needs it," she punctuated this statement with a sharp poke to his chest.

"Jeri's not who she was four years ago, neither am I, or any of the others. You need to grow up, and fast. If you don't, you'll lose a lot more than you could ever hope to understand."

Finding the strength to fight back, Takato shot a glare of his own.

"If you spent half the day with Jeri, then why did you show up here thinking it was a date? I saw the look in your eyes, so don't even try to hide it," Takato barked.

Rika snorted.

"You still don't get it do you? How plain does it have to be for you to understand it? How simply does it have to be made before you get it? Do you need it to be spelt out for you? Is that it? Fine, if that's what it takes for you to understand, then here it is Gogglehead. Jeri told you that she sees you as a brother now, do you have any idea why?"

Once again the slightly younger teen was shut off.

"Because she wants you to **move on**, because **SHE** wants to move on. She told me herself that she is tired of you treating her like a porcelain doll!"

Eyes wide, Takato's face paled.

"I had spent…I wanted to…" Shaking her head, Rika turned to leave.

"Forget it; I'm wasting my time here. When you start acting your age, when you figure out that things change and don't stay exactly the same year after year, you can talk to me. Until then, I don't want anything to do with you."

Time once again started, but when Takato looked up, both Rika and Renamon were gone, leaving him by himself, and shaken to the core.

* * *

End chapter 3

AN: Well, that's it; the big date is now over. The story however, is _far_ from being over. Like I said, this story is going to be between seven and eight chapters when it's finally finished. This just brings us up to current time and out of the flashback. The stage has now been set, the characters are in place, and things can finally get started. I hope that this wasn't too bad, but as I said, this was done almost completely through imagination and from reading other peoples work. I have no experience with this sort of thing at all. I apologize if this chapter wasn't what you were expecting or the characters were OOC, but this was the best I could do. I hope it was good enough.

I'll try to get the next chapter up sometime late Saturday or mid Sunday. I only hope that I still have readers after this chapter…

Let me know what you thought though, good or bad. I need help in improving this one particular area badly I think…anyways, I'll try to respond as soon as I can, but cant promise when exactly that is. And remember, I still accept annon reviews.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	4. Promise: To the Rain

Promise: To the rain

AN: We're almost there! This chapter is the halfway point, and the rising action to what I initially envisioned when I started this fic. I know it's a bit dark, but I wanted to keep it realistic, and given what had just happened I didn't think anything else would fit. Here you'll gain a little more insight on Rika's character, get to see some familiar faces, and get yet another tiny little glimpse towards my big fic, a teaser if you will. I apologize for this being several days late and STILL not getting around to answering all of my reviewers…even from my previous fic, but I again ask that you give me time. It actually takes longer for me to come up with review responses than it does for me to come up with ideas for new fics, so I ask that you continue to bear with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

* * *

_Promise: Assurance or warning – To forewarn someone that something is true or inevitable._

* * *

For the first time since she had started her recounting of the day's events, Rika looked up from the table and met Riley's eyes.

The look on her face, the emptiness in her eyes almost made the older woman sick to her stomach.

"Rika…I'm…so…sorry…"

The teenage girl wiped a lone tear from her cheek and shook her head sadly.

"I'm not…so…you…shouldn't be," she replied hoarsely.

Again, Riley found herself amazed at younger girl's strength. Even after going through everything she had, and then reliving it by telling her, she still hadn't broken down. Riley doubted that she was anywhere near _that_ strong when she was sixteen. She would have been curled up on the couch crying her eyes out eating ice cream for a week at minimum. Heck, she still would now if she went though all that in course of only a few hours.

"He just…he wasn't ready yet…he's still…he's still the same thirteen year old boy he was when we first met. Everyone else has grown up…but…he…hasn't changed at all," Rika said before shifting her gaze back to some invisible spot on the table.

Riley ran the information she had been given over in her head, and frowned. Something just wasn't adding up here.

"But I thought you said that he was more mature now, that he _had_ grown up."

Swallowing to wet her dry throat, Rika shook her head.

"He's gotten better, but he still hasn't matured since back then." Pausing, she took another deep breath.

"He was always…he had a matureness to him…even back then for his age…but…he stopped growing up. After we took down the D-Reaper, it was like something locked up in his head or something just didn't click. He was mature for a thirteen year old, but he hasn't gone any further since then," Rika explained.

"So…what you're saying is…that…he acted like he was older back then, but he still acts the same way now as he did back then?"

Rika nodded.

"He still looks at taming, and still thinks of digimon as an extension of the TV show. He still thinks that there are always clearly defined good guys and bad guys, that there is nothing between. In his mind…the good guys always win and the bad guys always get beaten. He can't see past that, or he won't see past that," Rika added.

Taking another deep breath, Rika shook her head and sighed.

"I can't believe I just threw it all away…I screwed up. I had everything…I had him as a friend, and I should've just been happy with that…but…then I had to go and get greedy…" Rika muttered to herself.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Riley offered.

"Nothing risked, nothing lost," Rika countered bitterly.

The older woman shook her head.

"Now who's the one that needs to grow up?" Riley asked with a raised eyebrow and what she hoped was a comforting smirk.

The younger girl looked up at her with a small amount of confusion breaking through her pain.

"He's a good boy Rika, and he's a lot stronger, not to mention smarter than you're giving him credit for. You gave him quite a scare, there's no doubt about that, but he's always bounced back stronger than he was before. Just give him a little time to pull himself together and he might surprise you in the end," Riley reasoned kindly.

"I…wish I that I could believe you…but…I pretty much just shoved everything he has 'known' for the last four years down his throat. He's always trusted me, just like…how I trust him. I don't think…I don't think things will ever be the same," Rika replied sadly.

"Good"

Looking up at the older woman, Rika did nothing to hide the etchings of betrayal from her face.

"You don't want things to go back to the way they _were_; you want them to get _better_. Sometimes that means a little tough love. If he really is your friend, if he really does care for you, he'll think about what you told him, and he'll learn from it. You just have to make sure that you can help him along the way," Riley warned.

For what seemed to be the millionth time that day, Rika sighed.

"I was _hoping_ that he would be the one to help _me_. I'm not good with this sort of thing; it's always been what he was good at. I mean, yeah, sure I can help him with fighting and all, but emotions?" Rika shook her head.

"Then help each other! Come on, you can't be giving up already. I know you're stronger than that, pull yourself together soldier!" Riley ordered.

The younger girl looked at her with something between hopeful and wishful, but it was weak compared to the pain she was obviously still reeling from.

"Listen, I might not be you, but I have known you, both of you for a while now. Nothing like this is going to put an end to your friendship. It might put a strain on it for awhile, and it might make things difficult. But friendships like yours aren't made in a single day, and they aren't broken in one either. Calm yourself down, pull yourself together, and then come up with a plan. I have faith in you."

Looking past the teen at the clock behind her, Riley groaned.

"Rika, I'm very sorry that things turned out the way they did, and I wish that I could do more for you, but I've got to get back up there or Yamaki will be on the warpath. Just promise me that you won't give up on him, please?"

Without meeting her eyes, Rika nodded.

Knowing that was the best she was going to get form the girl, Riley gave her another one armed hug before heading to the elevator with a parting comment.

"People like the two of you only come around once a generation. Remember that."

Then, she was alone with only her thoughts to keep her company.

* * *

Not wasting anymore of her time, Rika quickly left the 'secret' base of Hypnos and started her way home. She needed a shower, it was getting cold, and she didn't like the looks of the clouds above.

"_Stupid! What was I thinking!? I can't believe I exploded on him like that! He's stuck by me through so much, and what do I do? I shove a dagger through his back and leave him to bleed to death. Some friend I am,"_ Rika thought scornfully.

Hearing a clap of thunder, Rika sped up her pace.

She knew that she could just ask Renamon to get her home, but she needed the air, and she needed the time to think. Everything was a mess now and she was even more lost than she had been before the incident.

"_What the heck am I supposed to do now? I've just cut myself off from my two best friends…and…it's all my fault. Why couldn't I just be happy with what I had?"_

"_Because what you had wasn't enough to make you happy."_

Rika's eyes narrowed into thin slits at hearing _her_ voice.

"_YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! Because of you I'll never have a chance at all! Why did I listen to you in the first place?!"_ Rika demanded.

"_Because it's what you wanted and you know it. You know what Takato is capable of, that's what caught your attention in the first place remember? He has unlimited potential, he just needs to see that."_

"_Well he's not going to reach it through me now! He'll probably never even look me in the face again because of you!"_

'Jeri', knowing that she couldn't win this argument, no matter how right she was, decided to keep quiet. This was something Rika was going to have to work out on her own.

Hearing another clap of thunder from above, Rika looked up at the sky with a scathing glare.

"Yeah, well same to you too! Go ahead! Rain on me! I dare you!"

Another clap of thunder, this time much louder than before crashed through the sky above her.

"Well! Let's see it! Or are you just all talk! Come on! Hit me with your best shot! You've never held back before!"

After a minute passed with only a few rumbles of thunder in the distance, Rika snorted and continued her trek home.

"Hph, thought so."

* * *

Opening the large wooden gate, Rika groaned when she saw that her mother was already home, apparently waiting for her on the front steps.

"Rika!"

Flinching, the young girl made sure to keep her 'mask' in place to its fullest. She needed time to think, and that was one thing her mother would _not_ give her if she caught wind of what had happened today.

"Hey mom," she called back with her usual bored tone.

Her mother was smiling happily, blissfully ignorant of the days events as she approached her daughter. When she got close enough however…

"Rika? What happened to you? You look like you fell into a salad bar!"

Looking down at her shirt for the first time since that morning, Rika frowned.

"_That's right, I forgot about that."_

"Had an accident while I was out today. Some idiot wasn't watching where they were going," Rika replied scowling.

"Out? Oh, that's right, mom told me that you were going out for something, what was it? A date?" Rumiko asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Rika snorted.

"Yeah right, with who? Me Takato and Henry met up and grabbed some pizza. Nothing special," Rika clarified.

Rumiko tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment as she looked her daughter over.

"Did something happen while I was gone? You seem…"

"I'm just tired mom, nothings wrong. It's been a long week, and I just want to forget it ever happened," Rika answered cryptically.

Frowning, Rumiko sighed before nodding knowingly.

"Trust me, I know what you mean. I think those kinds of weeks become the norm when you get older."

Rika nodded and covered her mouth yawning.

"Sorry mom, I'm just really tired," Rika half lied.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that. Go ahead and get yourself cleaned up. We'll talk about it over dinner ok?"

The younger girl nodded, already starting to write a cover story in her head for the day's events. There was no way she was going to breath a word about this to anyone, _especially_ her family. This was _her_ problem to deal with, and she was going to do it _alone_.

Watching the younger girl entered the house, Rumiko frowned.

"Mom said that she was happy when she left this morning…I wonder what could have happened?"

* * *

Quickly making her way across the 'bridge' that lead to her room; Rika nearly slammed the door shut behind her. Never in her life had she been so glad that her room was at the furthest back corner of the house as she was now.

Part of her wanted to break down a cry her heart out while another part of her wanted to scream out in rage. Her mind, her heart, her very soul, every inch of her being was at war with itself, trying to pull her in a million different directions all at once. The only thing they all had in common was that they were all hurting, and the source of that pain was a red eyed teenage boy.

Sitting on her futon, she looked up at the ceiling, and screwed her eyes shut tightly.

"_No…I wont…I wont cry, not over him! I'm stronger than this! I know I am! Dad didn't break me, the kids at school didn't break me, IceDevimon didn't break me, and neither did Parisimon! I won't let some stupid boy break me!"_

Trying to focus on her rage, she clenched her fists tightly. Anger, rage, hatred, these had been her armor and her shield for the last ten years. Protecting her from anything, be it external, or internal.

She was confused and disappointed however when she found herself unable to feel their strength. They were there, she knew they were. She could feel them boiling and stirring within her. But they were just out of her reach. It was like being able to touch the edge of something but not enough to actually pull on it.

"_Why…what's going on here?"_

Remembering how she had visualized her mind in the past, she tried to do the same thing as she had earlier when she fought against her pride and fear. This time however, she wasn't reaching for some thin silk thread; she was reaching for a cargo ships anchor chain.

* * *

When she opened her eyes within her mind, she didn't exactly like what she saw.

The thick ropes she had sought out were there alright, she could see them plain as day. But instead of running randomly in crisscrosses, they were suspended above her, hanging just out of reach by what seemed to be an invisible force.

Narrowing her eyes and studying them closer however dispelled the notion that they were suspended by 'nothing'.

As the young redhead clenched her fists even tighter, driving her nails into her palms; Rika felt her lips pull back into a feral scowl.

"_That…that….stupid…it's his fault!"_

Weaved around her anger and rage, almost like a spiders web was the current object of her hatred and ire.

The blasted red thread. It stood not only to mock her now, but it actually went so far as to deny her the only source of strength she had known for most of her life.

"Why….WHY!"

"You mean you haven't figured it out? Geeze, and you called _him_ a Gogglehead."

Turning on her heel, Rika once again came face to face with her pride.

"I don't have time for your stupid games right now! Tell me, WHAT IS THAT DOING THERE!" Rika demanded pointing at the red thread above.

Her pride snorted.

"I'm not telling you anything. Figure it out for yourself. If you can't, then it's your problem, not mine."

Feeling something shaking her Rika blinked, and then everything disappeared.

* * *

"Rika? Rika, are you ok?"

Looking up, Rika came face to muzzle with her partner.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Rika sighed.

"I'm fine Renamon, I'm just…tired. I was thinking about something and just kinda zoned out there for a bit. Sorry if I worried you."

The yellow fox's face was void of emotion, but her eyes looked almost to be burning at their cores.

"It might be a good idea for you to change soon. If you don't, you might get sick," Renamon pointed out calmly as she left her tamers room, closing the door behind her.

Looking down at her clothes, Rika groaned, remembering that she was still fairly wet from earlier.

"Great, another thing to do."

Standing, she slowly made her way over to her dresser. She felt…not tired, but weak, like she was suddenly much heavier than normal.

"_What is wrong with me?"_

Trying as hard as she could, Rika reached out to her hate and her anger. She knew that if she could set them on Takato that everything would be fine and she could pull herself together. What was actually happening however was the exact opposite.

The more she focused on hating Takato, the worse she felt. It had started as a mildly bad feeling, but that had given way to genuine sickness. Something was preventing her from turning her hate on Takato like a pack of ravenous wolves. It was holding her back, forcing her to feel the pain she was so desperate to escape.

"Stupid Gogglehead, doesn't even need to be here the screw things up anymore," she muttered, ignoring the sharp pain she felt from making the comment.

Pulling her hair free from its confines, Rika looked at her mirror once more.

The reflection looking back at her this time was nothing like the one from this morning. Her eyes were cold and stony, but at the same time they had an almost glassy look to them. Her pale skin, still almost snow white now seemed to be pulling in the ambient light around her instead of reflecting it as it usually did. Even her dark red mane of hair was affected. In place of her burning ember tresses was what looked like dried blood?

She looked, and felt as though she was sick.

Moving to her private bathroom, she flinched at the brightness when she flipped on the light switch. It was the same room she had been in only a few hours ago, but it felt like it was ten times brighter than before. Without a thought, she quickly stripped and tossed the clothes from the day aside, still not sure if it was worth trying to save the shirt or not. Wanting to shake herself of the cold she was feeling, she turned the hot water up higher than normal. Ever since IceDevimon had snatched her four years ago, she had developed a dislike for the cold, and it only grew as time went on.

* * *

"_Come on, snap out of it. He's just a stupid boy, and this was just some stupid crush! Get over it!"_ Rika screamed mentally as she tried to scrub the memories of the day from her skin. The harder she tried to scrub and forget, the colder and colder she started to feel until she was almost certain she was seeing her breath.

"Ugh, nothing is going right today I swear, even the water heater hates me," she grumbled before trying to twist the hot water knob, only to find it was already as far over as it could go.

"_I'll just tell grandma at diner,"_ she noted mentally. With a sigh, she leaned forward, placing her hands on the cold tiles to hold up her weight. She was too tired to even bother washing her hair, so she just lowered her head and let the water run down her, ignoring the steam as it quickly filled the room, and the red running marks the water was leaving across her shoulders and down her back as it flowed.

"Stupid water heater…stupid Gogglehead," she muttered bitterly.

* * *

Some time later, she emerged with her towel wrapped firmly in place. She stuck her head outside of her bathroom's door before entering her room, just to make sure. It was a habit she quickly adopted after the others started visiting her at home, not wanting there to be any 'accidents'.

Sighing in relief that she was going to be left alone, at least for a little while, she quickly changed into her dark blue flannel pajamas.

_Knock knock knock_

"Rika, diner is ready, are you ok in there?"

"_Diner? What is she talking about? Diner's not until,"_ looking at her clock she blinked when she realized that it was already ten after six.

"Yeah I'll be out in a minute."

Hearing her mothers retreating footsteps, Rika groaned and shook her head.

"This day sucks."

* * *

Dinner went about as she had expected it to. Rika slowly picked at her food, only half way listening to her mother as she went on about how the shoot had gone horrible thanks to the photographers own stupidity. From the bits and pieces she had picked up, he had either forgotten to take the cap off of the lens, or he had forgotten to load a roll of film into the camera.

"Gogglehead."

"What was that?"

Snapping her head up, Rika saw her mother and grandmother looking at her in confusion.

"_Stupid!"_

"I said Gogglehead. It means stupid…very stupid. I think you had one for a photographer," Rika replied coolly.

Seiko frowned while Rumiko blinked, still confused.

"Gogglehead?"

"Yeah, Gogglehead. It's when someone doesn't notice things, even when they are painfully obvious or important."

Rumiko grinned.

"Gogglehead huh? I'll have to remember that one," Rumiko chuckled.

"Rika, is something wrong with the food? You've barely even touched it," Seiko asked, both worried about her granddaughter, and wanting to change things to a more civil topic.

Frowning, Rika stirred the bowl's contents with her chopsticks, still not knowing, or caring what was in it.

"No…it's alright. I'm just not hungry."

"Oh that's right; you and your friends went out for pizza. How did it go?"

Rika shrugged her shoulders.

"It was lunch. We went, we ate, we left."

"I heard on the news that there was a fire up by the Matsuki's earlier this afternoon. I was worried that you might have been over there when it happened."

Snorting Rika chuckled.

"Cant blame you really. I guess that's what happens when trouble follows you like a magnet, people worry about you."

"Well…you do seem to have your fair share of…how did you put it? Ah, that's right, adventures," Rumiko piped in.

"More like trials and tribulations," Rika muttered.

"That's up to the individual," Seiko said nonchalantly before taking a sip of her tea.

"I think I'm going to turn in early tonight. I didn't really sleep well last night, and I've got some tests tomorrow," Rika said as she slowly rose from her seat and stretched.

"That's ok honey, I've got the next two weeks off, so we'll have plenty of time to catch up," Rumiko chimed.

Rika whined in her throat, but it sounded just enough like a chuckle that her mother couldn't tell the difference.

"Well, I hope you have pleasant dreams dear. I'll see you tomorrow," Seiko called out without looking up from her tea.

When Rika closed the door behind her, Renamon phased in from the china cabinets shadow with her arms crossed.

"I know you're worried about her, but she needs time to herself to sort this all out."

The yellow fox frowned at the elder woman's words.

"I…am not sure she can…not this time," Renamon answered softly.

"Poor thing, she shouldn't have to go through all this," Rumiko said resting her chin on her hands.

"It was her choice, not yours. Now she has to live with it," Seiko replied calmly but firmly.

"Still…there has to be something I can do to help her. I've already missed so much…"

Seiko heard Rika close the door to her room outside and shook her head sadly.

"You are her mother, and you are there for her if she asks it of you. What more could you do?"

The younger woman frowned as she thought the situation over.

"Well…I could go talk to Ta-"

"She needs to do this on her own, or she needs to ask for help on her own. If she doesn't learn that, things will only be worse when she comes up against the next problem in her life. We can't go bailing her out of every problem behind her back, you know that," Seiko cut in before her daughter could finish the sentence.

Rumiko sighed, knowing that her mother was right. But it did nothing to help ease her own ache from the situation.

"I just hope she makes the right decision…"

"She will, I have faith in her," Seiko replied sagely.

"You said the same thing about me eleven years ago," Rumiko shot back.

"And I was right then too," Seiko counted without a moments hesitation.

* * *

Several hours had passed since dinner, but it could have been years or only minutes as far as Rika was concerned. To her, time really didn't seem to exist, or at the very least she was no longer aware of it.

"_Why…do I feel so cold?"_ Shivering, she pulled the blanket she had wrapped herself up in tighter against her thin frame. As she closed her eyes and listened to the booming thunder overhead along with the crackling lightning around her.

It had been cloudy for most of the day, but not long after dinner, the heavens themselves seemed to have opened like a great flood gate. The 'not friendly looking clouds' had become monstrous black columns whose thunder pounded the earth like a hammer. The biting cold rain that soon followed poured as though it was trying to wipe the earth clean of all life.

"_I guess it's only fitting though…"_ Rika thought idly as another bolt of lightning danced across the sky.

She had tried sleeping, but between the day's events, and the raging storm outside, it was little more than an exercise in futility. That was the reason why she was currently sitting with her head resting on her knees at the opening between her room and the main house, with a blanket draped around her shoulders wrapped tightly around her.

As she watched the freezing cold rains pelt the ground with an almost angry passion, she appeared to be calm, almost peaceful. Those who were closest to her however knew otherwise. The relationship between Rika and the rain was something of a mystery to everyone outside of her family, being one of the scant few things she had kept from both Takato and Jeri to this day.

It was how she cried.

Many had said that she was unbreakable, that nothing ever got to her, and that she had a bottomless pit to shove her emotions into.

While she did enjoy the illusion most people seemed to be under regarding this, she knew it not to be true. She _did_ have emotions outside of anger. She felt sadness, pain, and even fear.

She just never showed them.

When she had changed, back when she learned how to mask and cover over her pain and sadness, she quickly learned that it was almost toxic. If she kept it all inside for too long, it ate away at her from the inside out, making her feel sick and causing migraines that were beyond normal. It had taken her a few months of searching, but she found a way to both easily and covertly vent her grief.

The rain.

To her, it wasn't raining outside, quite the opposite actually. It was a bright and sunny day, warm with a gentle breeze. She couldn't see the clouds, she couldn't hear the thunder, and she didn't fear the lightning, all because it simply wasn't there. For her, the water that fell was not from the sky, it was from her eyes.

This was perhaps one of her most guarded secrets; it was one of her three sources of strength and one of the main contributors to her illusion of absolute emotional control. To put simply, the reason she never cried, was because she let the sky do it for her.

And right now, the sky was in deep anguish.

Her cold pale purple eyes gazed at an invisible object at the other end of the yard, rarely blinking even after her eyes became dry and itchy. It wasn't important what it was, it didn't even matter if it was actually there or not. It was simply something to look at, to concentrate on, nothing more.

"_Four years…down the drain."_

She remembered all the times she and Takato had fought side by side over the years, all the little things he had done for her, and the scant few things she had done for him in return. Each memory added another drop until it was just too much.

"_Why…is it…why is it always me? Why…can't I ever have just one thing for myself? Is that really to much to ask for?"_

Her entire life had been nothing but one uphill battle after another. She had to fight to get through school, she had to fight to make her friends, she had to fight for everything she had, everything that most people were given on a silver platter for free. She had to fight to find it, she had to fight to get it, and she even had to fight to keep it.

Now after eleven years of fighting, she was tired. At sixteen years of age, she had no more fight left in her. She had fought battles people three times her age would have run from without flinching. She had returned from battles many wouldn't be able to without so much as a scratch. But after so much fighting, after so many battles, her sword was dull, and her armor had become paper thin.

Leaning her head against the wooden doorframe, she watched the rain fall, watched as the sky cried silent tears that never fell, remembering all the things that had been, and all the things that never would be.

* * *

Hearing a familiar ringing beep behind her, Rika looked over her shoulder slowly. Her brain was still in a mind fog of sorts, but even as deep in thought as she was, she recognized the sound as important.

Rising from her spot on the small porch, she paid no mind to her quilt as it pooled around her feet, nor the biting cold the licked the soles of her feet as she moved silently across the wooden floor to her dresser.

_Beep chip beep chirp beep chirp beep chirp_

Slowly, she reached out to the familiar, but not so familiar object that rested on its top, and felt her thumb move on its own accord to the small yellow button on its left side. Instantly, a pale blue holo map came to life along with a compass and tracker.

"_Something's…coming…but where…"_

Despite her mental state being somewhere between sleeping and grieving, her body had preformed the actions enough times that it was able to move on auto pilot. Moving with an almost deliberate slowness, she dressed, grabbed her modifier cards, long coat, and hooked her D-Arc to her belt.

"Renamon…"

The shadows in the back of her room fluxed, and then opened to reveal her partner.

"Yes Rika?"

Cold lifeless eyes looked back at the fox digimon.

"We _need_…to go…"

Frowning, Renamon nodded.

* * *

Running down the streets as quickly as her body could take her, Rika paid no attention to the ongoing storm that raged. It was still serving its purpose to her, allowing her to bleed off the excess negative emotions at constant pace. Had she been operating at her normal mental facilities however, it would have been highly unlikely to find her where she was now.

Looking back down at her D-Arc, Rika continued to follow the arrow though the twists and turns of Shinjuku, ignoring the cold rain that was soaking her to the bone and the cold that was slowly numbing her lips, fingers, and toes.

"_I…need…to be…somewhere…"_

A flash of lightning overhead illuminated miles of the city before everything went black.

"_Powers out…no lights…need to…"_

Several more flashes of lightning crackled, with one striking the ground several meters from her. At this point, even Renamon was apprehensive about continuing on, but she trusted Rika's judgment, and she could sense the strange air about her. Back in Rika's room, something in her eyes had seemed, different. It had been eerily similar to when Parisimon had attached itself to her some years back, but at the same time, it had been completely different.

_'We need…to go…'_

"_Her eyes…so…void of life…but at the same time..."_

_'We need…to go…'_

She knew her tamer, and she knew how the girl was whenever it rained. Her mind would be blank, deeply buried beneath miles and miles of thoughts and feelings, leaving her body as little more than a living husk. She wouldn't respond, and she was nearly deaf to the world around her when in that state. It had taken Renamon herself _years_ to master meditation of that level, but even she maintained a connection to her senses.

_'We need…to go…'_

"_That…wasn't…but…it was."_

The movements had been slow, almost robotic in nature. She knew this to be a form of muscle memory that had build up over the years. But the way she was acting, her words. They weren't mere muscle memory, and she knew for a fact that her tamer wasn't being controlled by anything.

The question that that left was, if it wasn't reflex, and it wasn't control…

What was it?

* * *

The two continued running down the streets of Shinjuku, making familiar turns and taking familiar shortcuts though the darkened city until they reached a tree line.

"_Wait a minute, I know where we are…but…"_

Eye's widening, Renamon extended her senses and perceptions to their limits, reaching out in fervent hope that what she feared was not the case.

At the furthest edge of her hearing, she heard it. A familiar static crackle, surrounded by a buzzing sound, mingled with the sound of grinding metal.

"_No…"_

Leaping forward, the yellow fox snatched up her tamer and bounded towards the sound as fast as her legs could take her.

"_No, this is bad, why didn't I…there's no time for that. I can only hope that we're not too late."_

Berating herself for not keeping her wits about her, Renamon pushed everything she could into her legs, willing herself, forcing herself to push her limits to their breaking point. Jumping from ground to tree, limb to limb, her speed made it look like she was jumping on air.

"_If we're too late…"_

Landing from her last jump with the stealth of a tank that had been dropped from the side of a building, Renamon came to a sliding stop, nearly loosing her footing in the wet grass and mud.

Setting her tamer down, she looked into the clearing before them, and felt her blood turn to ice. Rika for her part seemed to have snapped out of her mild trance, but it quickly came back when she saw where they were, and what was going on.

Though pitch black from the lack of power, the continuing lightning storm above gave all the light they needed.

Between the flashes of dark and light, they saw it clearly.

There, standing in the middle of what appeared to be a freshly cut clearing of forest was a figure kneeling on one knee, flashing and glitching with each passing second. The frayed remains of its once long flowing cape whipped wildly behind it, like a wounded and dying creature lashing out with every last ounce of strength it had.

With her blood hammering in her ears, her face cold and wet, only a single word escaped from Rika's pale, almost blue lips.

"Takato…"

* * *

End chapter 4

AN: OHHH I am evil aint I? lol. This chapter is one I had some…difficult with, both due to some of the events within it and just trying to capture the general emotional state of things. I hope I can be forgiven for taking so long to update, and for not having responded to a decent number of you guys and girls reviews yet. I promise that I will get to them in time, likely this weekend if at all possible. Hopefully, this chapter made up for those short comings.

So? What did you think? Good? Bad? Let me know! I need reviews to improve, and your feedback tells me not just where I need to improve, but often times what you would like to see in the future (though for some reason most people don't seem to realize that oddly enough). I'm working on the next chapter even as you are reading this, so expect it to be out late this week.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	5. Promise: To Her

Promise: To Her

AN: Ok, so the fifth chapter is now here! This means it's now time to see a few things from Takato's perspective. I'll let you all know now that this chapter will NOT be a rehashing of chapter three through Takato's eyes, but it will cover a few of the more important parts from it. This chapter is mainly to explain a few bits and pieces about my interpretation of Takato, and the reasoning behind some of his past actions, both in the canon series, and here in my work. So, it's basically a filler and transition chapter. This is where the slow and steadily declining mood ends, and where the fear, terror and _real_ story begins. I said before that I didn't want Rika and Takato's relationship to start on the foundation of a joke, which is why I had the date go so badly. _This_ is where the first brick will be laid. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

_Promise: Swear- To declare something on oath as a legally binding pledge._

* * *

Looking out into the pitch black night sky, Takato rested his head against the cold glass of his bedroom window.

"_Idiot"_

That was the word of the day it seemed, as it was currently running through his head like a gerbil on its exercise wheel.

"_How could I not have seen it before? Am I really that dumb?"_ Takato thought with a pained sigh. He was both saddened and angered by the day's events, but he wasn't exactly sure at whom. Part of him wanted to blame Rika for his current state; after all, she was the one who had torn down his happy little world just a few hours ago. At the same time however, though he was still refusing to acknowledge it, part of him knew that the only thing she had done wrong was assume something that hadn't been true. Everything else, despite her having started it, was _his_ fault.

As the day's events ran over and over in his mind, he felt his mood dropping faster and faster until he was sure that it was free falling. With each passing loop, he spotted something else he should have the time before, one more detail, one more point, one more stab at his conscience.

* * *

Flashback

"_Where on earth is she? Rika's never late,"_ Takato wondered as he watched the people in the restaurant go about their business. He saw a few people he recognized, but didn't know any of their names. Some he had seen come into the bakery every now or then, and others he recognized from school, mostly underclassmen.

"_Is she mad at me for something? I don't remember doing anything that ticked her off this week…she's actually been in a pretty good mood lately,"_ Takato thought as he remembered how much calmer Rika had been for the last few days.

It wasn't like she was a completely different person; she was just more…pleasant to be around. She was generally acting the way she used to whenever they would hang out together. Her temperament had been calm, almost serene, but with the familiar vibe that she ready to switch back at a moments notice. She hadn't been beaming smiles or laughing all day long, she just seemed to have a calmer presence about her in place of the usual calm before the storm.

While he had been deep in though, part of him was still very much aware of his surroundings, and right now, his senses were telling him he was being watched.

Looking up, he saw her.

"_No way! Is that…no, it can't be,"_ was his first though, almost rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things….again.

"Ri..Ri…Rika? Is that you?"

Rika was his best friend, no question about that. And sure, he had always known that she was a girl; it was kind of obvious. But she had never acted like one before or done anything to reinforce it as far as he could remember. She had always been one of the guys, a friend, a buddy, like Henry or Ryo. He would admit that he enjoyed being around her a bit more than the others, but that was just because she was his _best _friend, _not_ because she was a girl.

This would explain why right now, his brain was currently stuck in neutral.

He had seen her wear the same clothes dozens of times before, but something was…different.

"_What…is it?"_

He might have been dense, but he knew something was different, not accidently off, but deliberately different. One didn't take art classes as long as he had without being able to notice when something had changed.

Starting at her feet it took him only a brief second before he reached her face, then, her hair.

"_What happened to the pineapple knot?…wait a second, does this mean her hair is actually down?"_

For as long as he had known her, Rika had always been very careful about her hair for some unknown reason. He had asked about it once or twice, but she would just change the subject or brush the question off. Still, in all the time he had known her, he had only seen it down once, and that had been just last week.

While she was sleeping.

He vaguely remembered that it had been down when she had locked herself out of his room as well, but at that time his attention had been on…quite a few other things than the state of her hair. Namely what on earth was going on, and how he was going to hide her from his mother.

It wasn't until after everything had cooled down that _other_ realizations had come to his attention.

"I...uh, lost track of the time, sorry I'm late," Rika apologized, as she slid into the booth across from him.

Flashback end

* * *

"_How did I not notice that? I mean come on, four solid years and she's never once had it in anything other than that pineapple!"_ Takato groaned as he tapped his had against the window for the hundredth time that night.

Jeri was pretty much the same way herself, though she no longer wore her hair in a sideways ponytail. She kept hers it in the back now, and had ever since she and Beelzemon had cleared up the remaining issues between them. So in the back of his mind, the fact that her hair was different probably should have stood out more than it had at the time.

"_She was nervous the entire time, and I should have known that something was wrong just from her constant fidgeting. Then there was her slip up…Kami I really am an idiot!"_ Takato shouted inside his mind slamming his fist into the hard wood of his windowsill.

* * *

Flashback

"So…what…made you think of asking me out here of all places?"

Feeling his eyes nearly pop out of his skull, it took everything Takato had to keep himself together.

"_Ask her out!"_

"W-what do you mean ask out? I-it's not-it-" before he could sputter any further, Rika cut in with a smirk.

"AH HA! So I _was_ right after all, you WERE in love with me weren't you?"

"_Love!? What the heck is she talking about! I thought she quit with that joke years ago! I'm with Jeri, she knows that!"_

"It only took you what? Four years to get around to asking me out? And here I thought you had just about pledged yourself to Jeri."

His vision was starting to go dark. If his blood pressure went any higher he was sure that his eyeballs were going to shoot out.

"Geeze calm down Gogglehead. I was just teasing you. Terriermon was right, you really do need to lighten up, you'll live longer," Rika said with an impish grin.

Flashback end

* * *

The second the words had left her mouth, Takato knew she was lying.

And it hurt.

In the four years he had known her, Rika had proven to be many things. She was clever, thought on her feet and could go with the flow. She could be as evasive in a battle of wits as Terriermon when trying to chase him out of a joke shop, and she could change both her mood and persona at the drop of a hat. But he had never once known her to lie, not to him anyways.

This was because out of everyone he knew; Rika was by far the best when it came to hiding things. She didn't have to lie, she would just dance her way around anything she didn't want to get into. Her face was like a one-sided mirror, only showing what she wanted to and let nothing else out. She could lie with a perfectly straight face, tease a person mercilessly without even the slightest twitch of a grin, or go through the worst of pains without crying a tear.

But her eyes were a completely different story.

Trying to read her face was like trying to read Calumon's handwriting. It was a hopeless endeavor and a waste of time. Her eyes on the other hand were like an open book. He had actually learned this on the day they first met, though it took him a few more encounters to actually understand what he was seeing.

At best, her eyes were an almost constant source of radiant aggravation. At worst, they were portals of pure malice and an almost primal fury. But if you could stand that brunt wall of emotion head on, you were given a window into her mind, heart and soul. The trick was after getting through that sheer wall of anger related emotions; you still had to withstand that initial shock from pain they hid.

The first time they met, he saw it. He didn't know what it was, but it was there, and it stuck with him. He had been more than just a little intimidated by her that time, but his father had always told him to look a person in the eye, it was the only way to see who they _really_ were. He had told him this so many times growing up that it had become second nature to him.

The second time they had met, in the parking garage, he saw it again. They were closer this time, not close enough that he could really see her eyes, but he was close enough that he could tell they were a shade of blue. This encounter had also lasted longer than their first one, so he had been able to 'break through' her wall of aggravation and see what it had been hiding. Again, not long enough to know exactly what it was, but just long enough to get a general feel.

What he felt, was pain. Pain and a black icy coldness he had never before thought possible.

This had been a major source of confusion for him at the time, since even though she had been openly hostile; she hadn't seemed to be all that evil. Mean and spiteful perhaps, maybe even a little cruel at times, but definitely not evil. Still, the encounter had been cut short, and he hadn't been close enough to really get a good feel for her, he had just brushed the surface so to speak.

The third time they met, when Renamon cornered them in the alley however, he was finally close enough.

Her eyes were not blue; they were light violet, an almost lilac shade of purple that reminded him of the early morning sky. As she continued to mock and belittle both him and his partner, he worked up the courage to meet her hard gaze with his own, and was finally able to 'see' exactly what it was she had been hiding from the world.

Loneliness

Her eyes were the same as the puppy's he found years ago, the one his mother and father made him give away because he was too young for a pet.

According to them anyways.

Despite the fact that one was a young animal, and the other a young human, the look was one and the same.

She was full of anger; it almost leaked from her every pore and came off of her like a physical presence. But buried deep underneath all that anger and rage was fear and loneliness on a scale he had never seen before. It had actually hurt him once he realized what it was, not just a little twinge either, but a solid stab that made him flinch and break eye contact.

That same night, as he tried to wind down from their adventure in the storm drain, her eyes haunted him. He was still worried about Guilmon, that something might have happened to him and he might disappear again, but it was like any other fear, a cruel whisper in the back of his mind. Rika's eyes however appeared to him every time he blinked, forcing him to feel an echo of her pain, an echo he still carried with him to this very day.

It hadn't felt like something inside of her was broken, or even like she was recovering from a serious mental or emotional injury. It had literally felt like she was dying from the inside out, rotting away internally. Her pain wasn't just heavy; it was dangerous, lethally dangerous. What was even worse was that she carried it like someone who had nothing left to go on, like someone that had nothing to lose.

That's when he made his decision, and promised to himself that he would try his hardest to be her friend, to help her shoulder that weight.

This was far easier said than done however. She had done _nothing_ to make it easier for him, going so far as to intentionally push him to his limits many times. But, in the end it had paid off for all parties involved. Months of hard work and effort had earned him a very strong and incredibly dependable friend. Someone he _knew_, not thought, _knew_ would always have his back, no matter what. In turn, she had earned several friends, people who were like her in many ways, and who would always try their hardest to help her as she had them.

He remembered that some years back, when he had been very little, his grandfather had told him something that he had never understood before meeting her. Like most men his age, he had served in the Second World War, so old war stories were often to be expected whenever they would visit. But one thing he had never understood was the concept of a brother or sister in arms. He knew what friends and family were, he had those. But the idea that there was something stronger than friendship or even family just hadn't seemed possible to him.

When the Deva's attacked, that changed, and he finally understood what his grandfather had been talking about. He understood what it meant to put another's safety before your own without a second thought, what it felt like to know when the two of you were back to back, that both of you were going to make it through. He knew, he didn't think, he _knew_ that he would do everything within his power to help her. There was no mountain high enough and no wall thick enough to stop him, and he _knew_ that she would do the same for him. They trusted each other with their lives, they shared an unspoken bond of trust beyond anything mere words could describe.

So when he saw that flicker of pain and deceit behind her amethyst eyes, it hurt him.

She trusted him enough to save her life, but not enough to tell him the truth.

* * *

Flashback

"Why would you thing that this was…a…well…date?" Takato squeaked. He hated how tight his voice had sounded, but he was still trying to gather hits wits about him from the 'love' comment.

"What are you talking about? It's just lunch Gogglehead. You're reading too much into this," she retorted calmly.

Again he saw that tiny flicker in the back of her eyes. In under a minute, she had lied to him twice.

He was mentally debating on whether or not to call her on it when his train of thought had been broken by Ms Asaji returning with their drinks. Her presence, when combined with his current mindset had unfortunately caused him to open his mouth, and thus the can of worms that had sent the rest of the day into a death spiral of flaming destruction.

"This is so going to come back and bite me, I know it," Takato muttered.

Flashback end

* * *

"_She's good, I'll give her that. I didn't think anyone could throw me off like that other than Jeri."_

The realization that Rika never had even _tried_ to throw him off until that point stung him between the eyes. They had a unique relationship, always had since the very beginning. He had never even tried to put a label on it because it had never mattered before.

She was Rika, and he was Takato. That's all there was to it.

If something was bothering him, he could talk to her about it, and in the rare instance she had something troubling on her mind, she could talk to him about it. They weren't 'confidents' exactly, that was more of Jeri's thing. He had at times wondered if this was what having a sister was like, but he had never seen Henry interact with either of his in a similar manner before.

He knew that they were friends, and what his grandfather had called 'brothers in arms' (even if she was a girl) but he couldn't quite put a peg on it. What they were to each other seemed to change depending on the circumstances. Whatever he needed her to be, she was, and whatever she needed him to be, he was. It just seemed so natural that he never questioned it before.

"_This entire day has just been one confusing screw up after another. After she switched tracks on me, I never had a chance to get back where I wanted to be. It was just one thing after another. Ms Asaji, then Henry's family, the fire…what am I? Am I some kind of human dartboard for cruel jokes or something?"_

Remembering the fire of course made him remember what happened shortly afterwards.

He had only experienced Renamon's 'between' world once that he could remember, and that had been years ago. So when he found himself once again in the freaky limbo world for no apparent reason, he was anxious.

* * *

Flashback

"What the, why am I here again? Rika, what's going on?"

He could see that she was shaking, a sign that he knew was bad. She only trembled when her grief was at its peak (which had only happened twice that he could remember) or when her rage at had reached its limit (which happened about twice a month).

"You…just….you don't…you're such a Gogglehead…"

"_Why is she doing that again? She was calling me by name before, now she keeps calling me that again? What happened?"_

"Hey, what's up with all the 'Gogglehead' today? I thought you were calling me Takato now remember?" He asked putting one hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her.

That proved to be a fatal error on his part.

In a single deft movement she had knocked his hand away as if it had burned her and turned to face him.

As long as he lived, he would never forget the look that was in her eyes at that moment.

Anger, rage, almost hatred pouring out at him like a flooding river. What hurt most of all however was that underneath it all was a surge of pain he had never seen before. It was even worse than what he had seen three years ago when Locomon had attacked, at least then it had only been anger and hurt.

This was a whole new level of pain, and an entirely different realm of anger than he had ever seen of experienced.

If he had to name the emotion he was seeing from her, he could only compare it to pure unadulterated agony, and even then it wasn't strong enough.

"Because you are a Gogglehead!" Rika roared before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"I can't believe you're so dense! How is it that you keep missing it? How do you not get it?! Jeri is not made of glass! She's not going to break just because some rumor gets around that we're dating! You go on and on about her like some lovesick puppy, and you know what?! I can't stand it anymore!"

"_Love…sick…puppy? But…me and Jeri…we're…what is she talking about?"_

"It's been four years Takato, FOUR FREAKING YEARS! She's not the scared and fragile little twelve year old you knew back then. And I'm not the cold and hardened Ice Queen that I was! WE GREW UP! ALL OF US DID! EVEN KAZU! The only one who hasn't is YOU!" Rika spat.

While it usually took quite a bit to get under his skin, Takato had had enough. The entire day had been one giant snowball and now she was accusing him of something that he couldn't see as being a problem. To top it all off, he actually had ammunition against her, something he rarely ever did in the past.

"What the heck is wrong with you!? You're telling me that I haven't changed, well so what?! That's better than what you've become! You've been lying to me all day!"

Seeing her eyes widen, he 'fired' away.

"Yeah, that's right Rika, I KNOW when you're lying, and you've been lying since the minute you sat down in there! What happened to you?! Out of everyone I know, you were always the most honest, you never lied to me, NEVER! But now, I don't think you've said a single honest thing to me since yesterday! Then, to top it all off, you try to pin it on me like I'm in the wrong!"

He hadn't meant to go that far, but the frustration and confusion that had been building up took him over like it had a mind of its own.

When her eyes narrowed, he knew he had made a mistake. Before had been a tremor, now he was getting the full eruption of Mt St Nonaka.

"Because you **are**! Geeze you're such a Gogglehead! Don't you _ever_ think before you speak?! I spent half of last Sunday getting interrogated, poked, and prodded by Jeri until she cracked me!"

"_Jeri…SHE WOULD NEVER DO THAT!"_

No longer able to think clearly, Takato's anger dropkicked all higher brain functions and took the wheel. It was one thing to yell at him, but to accuse Jeri of doing anything even remotely like that was crossing the line.

"What are you talking about? Jeri would never do anything like that! How could you even say that about her!?"

In the back of his mind he had been shouting, pleading, he had all but begged for his mouth to shut but it wouldn't. Once his anger took over, it was like trying to stop a hungry WarGrowlmon. All he could do was pray that it tired out quickly and that there was something left to repair after it had died down.

"Because it's true you idiot! You can ask her yourself! She was trying to help me, and I was thankful for her doing it! At least before half an hour ago I was, but now I wish I had never called her in the first place!"

"_Stop it now!"_ Focusing on his mouth, he used every bit of will power he had to shut it. He knew that if he didn't things were only going to get far worst. Rika was always a roaring fire, but to go up against her like this would only add fuel and make her burn out of control. He had seen first hand what this lead to in the past, and he had no desire to revisit _that_ memory. A wildfire destroyed _everything _in its path, including itself eventually.

Working desperately, he managed to shut his jaw and lock it tight; preventing it from throwing any more fuel on the now towering inferno. It had taken so much of his concentration to do this however, that he could barely hear what she was saying.

He caught little bits and pieces, she was worried about something, she and Jeri had met, and then something happened. Even though he was still 'cooling off' it twisted his heart to see the expression on his friends face, to see someone he looked up to, someone he saw as an unlimited source of power look so completely and utterly defeated. It stabbed him, and it stabbed him hard. Not just because he hated seeing her like this, but because it was _his_ fault that she was like this in the first place.

"She…told me something…about myself…something that…I already knew…but…refused to accept."

When her head lowered, the wave of shame that washed over him made him feel sick to his stomach. He had done this to her, he had reduced her to a side he _hated_ to see, and he knew how much she hated to show it.

Her vulnerable side, the one that typically came around once every year, the day before her birthday. When it had popped up in the past, he had always helped her cover it back up. He helped keep it from staying too long or from anyone else finding out about it. Right now however, he couldn't even begin to fathom what he was supposed to do. Not when he had been the cause of it.

"At…the…same…time….she…she…"

"_No, no, please Rika, don't cry, I'll never forgive myself if you do, come on, please, please still have some anger left in there, don't give in Rika, don't do it!"_ He wanted to tell her, he wanted to shout to her, but he couldn't. It felt like his entire being had been drained, like someone had just pulled out the floor from under him. He had sworn to help her break free from her pain, to try and shield her from as much of it as possible. The realization that he had just done the very thing he had promised to prevent hurt worst than any physical attack ever could.

He watched her take a deep breath, but she still wouldn't look up at him. With each passing second, he could feel the icy cold blade in his chest twist a little deeper.

"She asked me….she asked me to take…to look…to…help…she…"

Watching her tremble yet again, he was almost relieved to see her fists clinch in anger. She was drawing strength from it, pushing back against the damage he had done. When she finally did look up at him, when he saw the rage smoldering in her eyes, he didn't even try to look away. He deserved whatever she had to dish out at him, and he was going to take it. So, as she approached him he lowered his guard, and prepared to take the full force of her fury.

"She asked me to do a favor, a favor between friends and sisters."

"_Favor…what kind of favor? Jeri wouldn't…she wouldn't ask Rika to take me out on a date…would she? That doesn't even make sense."_

"I wanted to…I really did…but now," shaking her head, Rika stopped just a few inches in front of him.

"Now, I'm not so sure anymore. I'm not even sure if you're strong enough for me to help. But I know now that you're not strong enough to help me. Why Jeri thought you were I'll never know. As far as I can tell, you can't even help yourself, much less someone that really needs it," she punctuated with a sharp poke to his chest.

"Jeri's not who she was four years ago, neither am I, or any of the others. You need to grow up, and fast. If you don't, you'll lose a lot more than you could ever hope to understand."

"_Jeri…why does she keep bringing up Jeri? What happened, what did they talk about? I'm missing something here, something important. I have to find out what."_

Mustering up what remained of his will; Takato met her heated eyes with his own. If he was going to have any chance at all of fixing this, he needed to find that one piece he had been missing.

"If you spent half the day with Jeri, then why did you show up here thinking it was a date? I saw the look in your eyes, so don't even try to hide it," Takato demanded, hoping that just this once her legendary pride would work in his favor.

"_Come on, show yourself, what are you hiding,"_ he thought gritting his teeth.

Hearing her snort, he focused even harder, knowing that he was only going to have a tiny opening through her anger to find what he needed.

"You still don't get it do you? How plain does it have to be for you to understand it? How simply does it have to be made before you get it? Do you need it to be spelled out for you? Is that it? Fine, if that's what it takes for you to understand, then here it is Gogglehead. Jeri told you that she sees you as a brother now, do you have any idea why?"

"_How did she…no time to think about that now. Something about what Jeri said…but what does that have to do with today?"_

"Because she wants you to **move on**, because **SHE** wants to move on. She told me herself that she is tired of you treating her like a porcelain doll!"

"_Move on…no…no, please tell me it's not what I think,"_ Takato's eyes widened and he could feel his heart stop beating. He could barely make out her words after that point, all he could hear was the sound of a thousand mirrors shattering at once.

He saw it.

In her eyes, a tiny flame of hope, and before his very eyes, he saw it go out, leaving only a smoldering ember behind.

"I had spent…I wanted to…"

Breaking eye contact with him, she shook her head and turned to leave.

"Forget it; I'm wasting my time here. When you start acting your age, when you figure out how things work in life, when you figure out that things change and don't stay exactly the same from year to year, come see me. Until then, I don't want anything to do with you."

He felt broken, like something inside of him had just been completely destroyed. The combined shock of finding out that his best friend had feelings for him, and apparently had for a long time, that his long time crush was trying to _force _him into moving on, that she had given up on any possible future with him, and the overwhelming guilt that he had caused Rika of all people this level of pain was too much. He felt his mind go blank as he mentally screamed at the top of his lunges.

By the time he finally managed to reboot his brain, he saw that both she and Renamon were nowhere to be seen, he was alone.

And feared it to be in more ways than one.

Flashback end

* * *

Then, he had been confused, scared, and angry. But now, now he was something entirely different.

In the rare off chance he and one of his friends had gotten into an argument in the past, he would feel angry and upset afterwards for a little while, then he'd mope, then finally he would work up the nerve to sort it out with them. But this time, he actually didn't feel anything at all.

_Period_

It wasn't that he didn't hurt; it was like there was no hurt. He felt…numb. It was like the time he had his wisdom teeth pulled and the dentist had given him anesthesia.

"_Why don't I feel…upset? She's my best friend; I should feel something shouldn't I?"_

His parents and partner had both been worried about him when he returned. He had just walked in without saying a word to them, sat down in front of the TV and tuned the world out. He hadn't even noticed that the TV was off the entire time. After who knows how many hours had passed, his dad had nearly scared him out of his skin when he tapped him on the head. He was surprised to find it getting dark outside, and that his once steaming hot diner was now lukewarm at best.

It was strange; he had gone through plenty of rough times in the past, so why hadn't he ever felt like this before?"

Not having the energy to think about it anymore, he turned off his light and crawled into bed. He'd take a shower in the morning; right now he just wanted to forget her pained face, her hurt eyes, and the sick feeling in his stomach from knowing how much he had hurt her.

He wanted to forget this day had ever happened.

* * *

After what seemed to be less than a minute of blissful nothingness, Takato was pulled from his sleep by a phone ringing.

"_What on…what's going on?"_

Almost falling out of his bed, Takato dragged his half asleep half dead corpse to his desk and answered his cell phone.

"Hello…" he barely managed to muster.

'_Takato, we have a level one emergency. A large signal is coming through at the portal. We need you to prevent if from being secured.'_

The somewhat conscious part of his brain recognized the voice, but it took a few seconds before that part of his brain and the thinking part of his brain connected.

"_Riley? Oh no, not now, come on, cant a guy get just one break in a day? Is that too much to ask?"_ In all honestly, he felt like crying. This had to have been one of; if not _the_ worst day he could remember in his life.

Looking up, he saw several flashes of lighting and could actually hear the rain pealing the paint from the side of the bakery.

"What? Are you kidding me? It's a typhoon out there," Takato half whined.

'_I am aware of that, but this is serious. That portal has unlimited potential for manipulation. If someone gets their hands on it, they could expand it to allow anything through.'_

"_Why do they have to use such big words this late…err…early?"_ Takato corrected himself when he saw the time was just after one am.

"_But if what she aid is true…oh man, that means it could be like an express checkout lane from the digital world to the human world, this sucks!"_

"….You're kidding me? This_…*sigh*_ fine, I'm on it," Takato grumbled. His sense of duty would top anything else nine times out of ten. His friend's lives being the only thing that could overrule it.

'_Good, you have…five minutes before the Wild One makes its way through the network.'_

"_Can this day get any worse?"_ Takato thought as he put down his Hypnos issued cell phone.

Lightning stuck across the street knocking out the power, plunging his room into complete darkness.

"I had that one coming didn't I?" He asked looking up at the ceiling with sagged shoulders.

* * *

"Alright, come on boy, time to wake up, we got a Wild One coming," Takato said as he tried to shake his partner awake.

"Hmmm…peanut butter and banana bread…" Guilmon mumbled before rolling to face away from his tamer.

Takato's eyebrow twitched.

"Ok…that…was random…"

With groaning effort, he managed to turn his partner over to face him and shook him once again.

"Come on boy, we need to go, we don't have much time."

Guilmon's gold reptilian eyes opened slightly, as if he was peeking out from the realm of sleep and dreams.

"Takatomon?"

"Yeah, I know, come on boy, duty calls," he joked.

"Duty? Whose he?" Guilmon asked yawning, still not willing to part with his sleep just yet.

"You know that's not going to work with me. It was only funny the first time, now come on, we need to hurry. We've got five minutes to reach the hideout."

The red raptor uncurled itself from the tight ball it had been sleeping in and pulled itself out from the bottom bunk with what amounted to a disappointed frown on his muzzle.

"Aw, Takatomon, I was having such a good dream…"

"Yeah…I could tell," Takato replied with a grimace. Where his partner came up with some of his bizarre food creations was beyond him.

Since it had been an unusually cold night, he had gone to sleep wearing what he had earlier in the day, something he was very thankful for as he found it difficult just to find his modifier cards and jacket. Grumbling about how life seemingly hated him, he quickly found what he needed and made his way to the door, only tripping once on an old sock…or at least what he hoped was an old sock.

* * *

Using the flashes of lightning to see, Takato managed to make his way down the stairs and to the back exit of the family bakery without falling and breaking his neck. He knew that Guilmon could actually see very well in the dark, so he wasn't worried about that. No, his main concern was something far more unpredictable and much more dangerous than a dino-avalanche.

A boom of thunder and lightning crackle overhead reminded him of the fact that for all his power and strength as Gallantmon, he was still nothing more than a speck of dust compared to Mother Nature.

"Guilmon, I need you to hold my hand, I can't see very well in this, so I'll need you to guide me ok!" Takato shouted above the wind and thunder.

He felt his partner's clawed hand grab him firmly, and start pulling him towards their destination.

* * *

As the two ran, Takato couldn't help but feel as if there was something almost unnatural about this storm. He knew bad ones came up every now and then, but it had been a long time since he remembered one this bad hitting them.

"_It's like Kami's angry or something…"_

The thunder and lighting would boom and crackle almost in tandem, filling the sky with white and purple streaks of light while at the same time nearly deafen his senses. The storm wasn't just powerful; it was actually making him feel sick. In his mind, it almost sound like the lightning was screaming out pained sobs. The thunder on the other hand was roaring in anger, like a mob of zealots were chasing him down. Then added to that, the freezing wind was cutting him to the bone like a sword as it whistled and wailed in the trees and off the buildings around him.

But none of these were as bad as the rain.

It seemed to go right through his clothes, including his shoes. He could feel it on his skin, not like he was wearing wet clothes, but he could actually feel the cold drops of rain as if it was falling directly on his bare skin. Each and every drop felt like a tiny freezing cold needle being pushed into his skin.

Shuddering, Takato pulled his jacket tighter around him and continued towards the portal.

* * *

Pushing forward, the two jumped when a bolt of lightning struck a tree less than fifty feet from them.

"Keep going! If we stand still we're just an easy target. Stay close to the trees!" Takato shouted.

If Guilmon said anything in response, it was drowned out by a boom of thunder so loud that Takato was actually able to _feel_ it.

"_Stupid Hypnos, they're all safe and dry inside their multitrillion yen bunker while I'm out here playing hopscotch with lighting!"_

As the storm raged, Takato pulled out this D-Arc and scanned for the bioemergence. Hypnos was a lot of things, and one of them was unfortunately accurate. They couldn't do much to stop a Wild One from breaking through, but they were very good at pinpointing when and were they would.

Another crackle of lightning flashed in the sky above shaking Takato's concentration and almost making him drop his D-Arc. Despite having raged for several hours, the storm hadn't subsided in the least. If anything, it had actually gotten stronger.

Takato and Guilmon both came to a stop at the all too familiar high pitch whirl sound made by a bioemergence. Half a heartbeat later, a column of white light broke through the tree tops and reached into the angry skies above.

"Alright, let's go! Hopefully this will be an easy one," Takato muttered the second half mostly to himself.

* * *

When they reached the hideout, Takato pulled down his goggles and squinted. It was dark, it was raining, and what he was trying to see through was pretty much a cloud to begin with, so it was a difficult to see anything.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"_Aw nuts, this day just…ugh, this day sucks."_

He couldn't see who it was, but the voice was a dead giveaway. Digimon might have different personalities and be entirely different from one another in their own species.

But their voices were generally all the same.

Immediately dropping his head, Takato started scanning the ground for the Wild One.

Sure enough, just a few feet in front of him was a two foot long purple and green worm.

Wormmon.

Of all the digimon in existence, this was the last one he ever wanted to come across and have to fight.

The small green digimon narrowed its eyes, but for the life of him Takato just couldn't see the little guy as a threat. It was always hard to fight a digimon that was of the same species as one of the 'good guys' from the TV show, but Wormmon was a special case of its own class.

Remembering how his partner had treated him through the first half of the second season had left Takato feeling sorry for the small virus digimon. Whenever he looked at one of its cards or saw it on the show, he couldn't help but remember how much the little guy had been through.

He guessed it was a pity shield of some sort.

"Alright, I know you've been through a lot getting here and all, but I'm going to have to ask you to go back home ok? I know where there is a portal you can use, so if you'd just follow me," Takato was cut off by the small rookie digimon.

"No, I already know where the portal is. This is our home now. Leave now, you wont be warned again," it threatened.

"_Our?"_

Looking up slightly, Takato felt his eyes slowly widen.

On the hill and in the trees behind the Wormmon he had been talking to was a small army of Wormmon.

"_This…is just not my day is it?"_ Takato thought with a sigh.

Seeing the large number of digimon now surrounding them, Takato felt even sicker than he had before. He knew Guilmon was more than a match for this many, heck, he could take on five times this many. Since the destruction of the D-Reaper, his partner's strength had grown exponentially. As Growlmon, he was easily on par with most Ultimate level digimon now. An army of rookies was little more that batting practice.

Still, it left him feeling guilty whenever a rookie came through, and he always gave them a chance to go willingly.

"Come on, I _really_ don't want to do this. You have to know that you don't stand a chance against Guilmon, it wouldn't even be a fight. Please, just go willingly, I don't want to fight you," Takato shouted above the wind and rain.

"No! We are not leaving our new home. This is your last warning. Leave now, or be destroyed."

Takato had to admit that he was impressed by the little guy's courage. It took a lot of guts to stand his ground the way he was without even blinking.

But, as Riley had said herself, the portal was dangerous, and they couldn't afford to let it fall out of their control.

"Alright, but I warned you," Takato offered sadly.

"As did I," Wormmon replied with what seemed to be a sad bow.

"Guilmon…lets-"

Before he could finish speaking, the 'lead' Wormmon started glowing white. Less than a second later, the rest of the hive followed suit.

"**Wormmon Digivolve to!"**

Eyes wide Takato slammed his D-Arc into his chest. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was happening.

Wormmon might not have been a threat, even in large numbers.

But his champion form was a different matter entirely.

"**Biomerge Active!"**

Feeling himself falling into his partners data core, Takato knew it was now a race against time.

As he watched the red, white and gold Chromedigiziod armor form around his body, Takato could see the small white 'cocoons' start to expand and grow.

"**Gallantmon!"**

Flashing from data to solid, Gallantmon brought up his shield and lance just as the army of cocoons split open, filling the forest with a blinding pulse of white light.

"**Stingmon!"**

This was no longer a 'duty'.

It was a nightmare.

He didn't think he could even count how many pairs of angry red eyes were staring at him from the pitch blackness before him, but he knew it had to be well over forty.

Again the lightning crackled above casting its flashing white light on the earth below, making the world look like a photograph negative. Everything was white, but a few streaks of black could still be seen.

"Farewell Sir Knight. You should have run when you had the chance," the lead Stingmon said sadly.

Another flash of lightning cracked, and they disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

Carefully scanning the woods around him, Takato knew that this was a seriously bad situation to be in. Stingmon, was by far, one of the strongest digimon in existence. He was lightning fast, physically strong, and had a decent sized list of techniques. Overall, he was balanced, but there was one ability at his disposal that Takato knew was going to make this fight difficult for him.

They could fly.

"_This is bad, really bad. Come on Takato, think. Use your head. They can't get out of the biofield for at least another ten minutes. So I have that long to deal with them…this isn't going to be easy."_

Narrowing his eyes, Takato focused Gallantmons hearing as best he could. But between the thunder booming above, the lightning crackling around, and the rain pelting his armor and everything else from every direction, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

"Takato, they're going to fight dirty aren't they?" Guilmon asked suddenly.

"Yeah, looks that way, why?"

"I have an idea, it should get rid of some of them," before he could even start to explain his plan, it came.

"Moon Shooter!"

Turning, Gallantmon brought around his shield to block the stream of white energy bursts. All the lightning made it difficult to see however, so a few of the blasts got through and struck him in the chest.

"_At least they're not too powerful; still, I need to be careful," _Takato thought as he winched from the stings of energy. They didn't hurt too badly, about as much as getting a splinter, but that was still enough to keep his attention.

Hearing something buzz above, Takato thrust Gallantmons lance overhead, but only caught a flash of red eyes as the Stingmon darted away out of his range.

"**Grrr, come out here and fight me like a mon! If all you're going to do is dance then-"** Catching a flash of red to his side, Gallantmon brought his lance around with a diagonal sweep.

He came closer this time, but the Sthingmon came to a sudden stop and darted backwards to dodge him at the last second.

Knowing that time was _not_ on his side, Takato tried to predict where the next attack would come from, but he couldn't pick out any particular pattern that the Stingmon were using. Sometimes it would be from above, other times from behind or a side, but they always came at him one at a time, further confusing him.

"Moon Shooter!"

Turning to block the attack, Takato heard something else from directly behind him.

"Spiking Strike!

"**AAAAHHHHHHHHH!"**

An arrow of searing pain shot through his back dropping him to his knees. He felt the Gram lance fall from his hand, but it didn't register he needed to pick it back up. The pain, the white hot piercing pain, it filled his senses and it drowned out everything else including the storm above. It was by far the worst pain he had ever felt in his life, nearly blacking him out on the spot.

Growling, Gallantmon picked pack up his lance and rose to his feet.

"**That was a cheap shot! Let's see you try that again!"** Gallantmon challenged with a snarl.

"Spiking Strike!"

"Spiking Strike!"

"Spiking Strike!"

Pivoting, Takato tried to follow the voices, but they were coming from every direction, above, behind and to the sides. He felt like a small guppy in a shark feeding frenzy, surrounded and blind.

"Gotcha!"

Looking down, Takato barely noticed a Stingmon that had been crouching in the shadow of a tree beside him.

"Spiking Strike!" It shouted as it lunged at him with its blade of energy.

"**Lightning Joust!"**

Purple energy met point to point with Chromedigiziod, splintered, then shattered. The Gram lance sliced through the Stingmon's attack and then continued through the Stingmon itself, digitizing it.

"Moon Shooter!"

Takato ignored the attack, knowing that he couldn't really hurt him; it was a mild annoyance at best. What he had to watch out for was the 'purple doom blade'.

"Evil Antenna!"

"**What!? Ah crud, I forgot about that one!"** Gallantmon shouted as he ducked to the side and evaded the whip like extensions trying to entangle him from above.

"Spiking strke!"

"**Spiral Saber!"** Charging his lance, Gallantmon swung in a wide arc, releasing a white wave of electrical energy around him. It wasn't as powerful as the Lightning Joust, but in this case, he didn't need the concentrated power.

"Ahh!"

"Ahhh!"

"_Great, three down and like…thirty some more to go, Guilmon, you said that you had a plan?"_ Takato asked hopefully, still wincing from the 'sting' to his back.

"We need to get out of here Takato, we need to get away from the trees. That's where they're hiding, I can smell them!"

"_But if we run, they'll get away! We can't let them get out of here, one of these guys is tough, but a whole swarm of them is as bad as the D-Reaper!"_

"Then….get rid of the trees," Guilmon offered.

"_Uhh, mind running that by me again?"_

"We need to get rid of the trees. If we can't leave them, then we have to make them come out," Guilmon explained.

"_Alright, let's give your plan a shot, here we go!"_

Bringing his lance around, Gallantmon sliced through the three trees behind him. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"**If you're just going to hide, then I'll come and seek! Spiral Saber!"**

Releasing another wave of energy, Gallantmon took out several more trees, expanding his visual rage enough that he could at least see what direction they would be coming from.

"Now I just hope it works on them like it did Beelzemon," Guilmon said slightly nervous.

"_Huh? Beelzemon? What about him?"_

"Beelzemon said he hates the rain, it makes it hard for him to fly…I was hoping that it would work on Stingmon too."

"_Makes it hard for him to….fly…"_ Figuring out what the purple imp had been implying, Takato brought Gallantmon's lance around once more.

"**Spiral Saber!"**

"_Guilmon you're a genus!"_ Takato beamed.

"I am?"

"_You sure are boy! If Stingmon's wings get wet, they get too heavy to fly; this will at least make it a fair fight!"_

"**Alright you bug-uglies, bring it on!"**

Three Stingmon flew out from the tree line, silently darting towards him.

Halfway from between where they had come out and him, they started slowing down noticeably. When they were only a few meters from him, they landed.

"Fool! We don't need flight to destroy you!" One of them shouted as several more landed behind the first three.

"_That is not what I was hoping to hear them say,"_ Takato thought grimacing.

"Did you actually believe that we, as insects were not aware of our limitations? It's as natural to us as fighting is to you!"

Gritting his teeth, Takato charged.

"**Royal!"**

"Spiking Strike!"

Before 'Saber' could pass from his lips, Takato felt four piercing hot blades press into him. Two from behind and one from each side.

"**AAAWWHHHHHHH!"**

"Accept your defeat Sir Knight. You have lost."

From inside his sphere of data, Takato was driven to the brink of insanity from the overload of pain wracking through his body. He could feel Gallantmon's data glitch, and knew he was in deep. But the pain was overriding any sense of logic or reasoning. Feeling his mind submerge and Guilmon's berserker rage take over, Takato did the only thing he could do.

"**N-never! Shield of the Just!"**

The lead Stingmon managed to dive out of the way, but several of his fellow brood mates had not.

"Very well done Sir Knight, but you are hopelessly outmatched. I must commend your bravery though; few have stood as long as you have."

Takato could feel several Stingmon grabbing him from behind and his sides, holding him so that he couldn't move anything but his head.

The lead Stingmon took his position several feet in front of him, and pulled back his arm.

"Spiking Strike!"

Seeing the blade extend from its wrist mount, Takato felt time slow almost to a stop.

"_No…I'm…not…finished…yet!"_

Pushing with everything he had left, Gallanmon roared in defiance and he rose from his forced crouch.

"**If I'm going down, I'm not going alone!"**

Bringing his outstretched arms to his chest, Gallantmon pulled two Stingmon in front of him just when the attack had reached him. He was fortunate that one of the two was in the path of the incoming blade, and took it for him.

Not willingly of course.

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"**Doesn't feel so good does it?!"** Gallantmon shouted as he pulled free of the other Stingmon's grip and forced them back swinging his shield.

"You have tried my patience for the last time Sir Knight! Destroy him!"

Though he was still standing, it was only because he was currently leaning on his shield for support. Every nerve in his body was screaming in pain, and he knew that sections of his armor were glitching nonstop.

Several more Stingmon landed behind their brothers, further bolstering their numbers.

He had lost count of how many Stingmon he had destroyed, he knew it wasn't many to begin with, but seeing the swarm that stood before him was adding insult to injury. He couldn't tell if he had even made a scratch in their numbers.

"_I'm…we're…not going…to make…it…are we boy?"_ Takato asked weakly.

"Takato…I….hurt…it…hurts…." Guilmon wimpered.

"_I…know…I'm….feeling…it too…"_

It was like something out of a bad Western. He watched as the Stingmon lined up Firing Squad style, and pulled back their arms.

"Spiking,"

"_Come on, something, anything, I'm not going down like this!"_

Moving, Gallantmon stood as best he could, his frayed tattered cape flying wildly in the storms wind.

"**I'm…not….finished yet. Just you watch! I'll take down every last one of you!"**

"Strike!"

Readying Gallantmon's shield for one final attack, Takato waited for them to get close enough. This was it, he was going to die, and he knew it. The only thing he could do now was take as many of them with him as he could to try and make it easier for the others.

Watching the wall of insects grow closer and closer, blades at the ready, Takato screwed his eyes shut.

"_I'm…sorry…Rika…"_

"**SHIELD OF THE-"**

"**Spirit Strike!"**

Tails of red, blue, green and yellow fire streaked from behind and wrapped around him like a protective shell, stopping the approaching Stingmon dead in their tracks.

Looking to his side, Takato saw Sakuyamon readying her staff with a face void of any emotion. Slowly approaching the swarm, she spoke with a voice colder than death itself.

"**None of you…not _one_ of you will leave this forest alive."**

End chapter 5

AN: Well, I know its mean of me to cut it off here, but I had a difficult time trying to find a balance. I wanted to get some action out but at the same time didn't want to cover the entire fight. It was hard to pick a place for where this chapter would end and the next one would begin, but I think this was the best choice. There are only two main chapters left, and they are the important ones. You might have noticed by now that each chapter has had a different 'promise' defined. The next two wont. This is because I want to leave it up to each and every one of you to decide for yourselves what kind of promise it is that's being made rather than me just telling you. I'm still trying to get around to answering all of my reviews, and I apologize especially for those who I haven't responded to yet from 'Endless Waltz'. I haven't forgotten about you, I just need a little more time. I hope this chapter made up for that.

Next chapter, the big battle, and the unvailing of my version of Rika's _true_ wrath. What you guys saw back in chapter three was _nothing_ compared to what's in store for you next chapter. Please don't forget to review though, they give me the drive to keep going and help me improve my writing. I count on you guys more than you think.

So, be on the look out for chapter six, Promise: To the Setting Moon

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	6. Promise: To The Setting Moon

Promise: To The Setting Moon

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AN: Ok, sorry this chapter is late, but I had a lot of mess come up in the last two weeks that prevented me from doing just about anything I actually wanted to. Added to that is the fact that this chapter is probably the single hardest one I have ever had to write. It almost covers the entire emotional spectrum as well as a majority of the genre out there. When I first started writing this story, I only had three chapters in mind, with this one being the single idea that inspired the entire thing. In other words, this chapter covers most of the events I envisioned when I set out to write this story.

**IMPORTANT!** I Do want to take this opportunity issue the following statement: Many of you are undoubtedly aware of the works published by the author known as Blazing Chaos, or B.C. as he sometimes goes by. I have spoken with him and gone over certain details for my big fic, ONE of which you will first see in this chapter. It is SIMILAR in appearance AT FIRST to something of his, but it is actually something entirely different. There will be no 'ancient powers' or 'reincarnations'. There will also be NOTHING even CLOSE to Chaos or Harmony in my work. To rip off another authors work goes against everything I strive for. Scenes or details? I'm more lenient on that sort of thing, but NEVER plot devices or plot lines! In short, B.C. knows exactly what happens here, he knows it looks like something from one of his works, and he knows that it's actually something entirely different. So don't fill my review box with angry hate mail calling me a rip off artist cause I'm not.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment. Also a huge round of applause goes to Digivice(dot)net for having such a through archive.

* * *

"**What, where did-"** Completely lost for words, Takato could do nothing but stare outside of his gold and orange bubble for what seemed to be an eternity. The sky was still pitch black, and the storm had only gone from bad to worse. Lightning was no longer flickering or flashing at random intervals, it just continued flashing nonstop. But he wasn't anywhere near as afraid of the storm above him as he was of the girl standing a few feet to his side. Something was off, wrong, the entire situation had a bad feeling to it.

"**Rika? What are you doing here?"** It wasn't that he was disappointed to see her, far from it, but he was surprised nonetheless. Out of everyone, she was probably the last one he expected to bail him out of this mess. Heck, part of him half expected her to help the Stingmon finish _him_ off.

"**Does it matter you idiot. Get out of here,"** she replied with an almost hollow voice.

As she spoke, the four streaming tails of energy around him 'opened' from the shell they had formed into something like to a half circular wall between him and the Stingmon. He was surprised when he felt the golden armored shaman grab him by the shoulder and shove him towards the trees behind them.

"**If you take one more hit from that thing you're dead. Get out of here now, you're just going to get in my way if you don't."**

Takato shuddered at hearing her voice. Now he _knew_ something was wrong. Rika's voice had been so cold that he swore he saw her breath when she spoke. He wasn't sure what was going through her head at the moment, but something inside of him was twisting painfully. The only time he had ever heard her voice take that tone was the first time he saw her, in his dream. But even then her voice carried _some_ emotion, cockiness and superiority for the most part, but it was still emotion. Right now, she almost sounded like a computer, or a dark void of nothingness.

"**Rika…"** He knew that she was right, he was in bad shape, but he didn't want to just leave her to fight alone.

"**Go…"**

Feeling like he had just been sucker punched by her words or more than likely it was the complete and utter lack of confidence they carried towards his ability to help out with the situation, he could do nothing but nod his head as Takato willed Gallantmon back towards the tree line.

"**Thank you."**

* * *

If she heard him, she didn't show it in the least. One minute she was following him with her face, the next her back was facing him as though she had never seen him there in the first place.

Takato watched as without so much as a word, the four fox spirits that had formed the protective wall around him before separated, then charged at the swarm of Stingmon, digitizing everything they touched.

"Moon Shooter!"

Without even looking to her side, Sakuyamon swung her staff and batted the white blasts of energy back at the Stingmon that had fired them, destroying him with his own attack.

With her staff still in motion, Sakuyamon's feet then lifted off from the ground, hovering just a few inches above it. Then, like a bolt of gold and black lighting, she was gone.

Confused at what was happening, the next thing Takato heard was a Stingmon screaming in pain, then a digitization bust. Seconds later there was another one, then another one, and another one. Between the flashes of lighting, he saw what was happening. Sakuyamon was darting from one Stingmon to the next, destroying them with only a single hard strike from her staff. He knew for a fact that she couldn't teleport, but he couldn't remember ever seeing her fly anywhere near this fast before, especially at such a low altitude.

"_What on…she's not even using her attacks? She could take them all out with just one Amethyst Wind, why is she attacking them one at a time? That's not how she usually fights, what's going on here?"_

He had never known Rika to willingly prolong a fight, it just wasn't her style. She prided herself on being able to take down a Wild One fast and without making much of a mess. Half the time they never even saw her coming, they would just feel a sudden pain and disappear.

But this fight, the way Rika was acting, it felt wrong. Even worse was that despite the distance he was from the battle, he could sense that Rika wasn't only doing this on purpose.

But that she was enjoying it.

Coming to a stop in the middle of the clearing, he saw her once again summon her four fox spirits. Unlike the previous times he had seen this done however, they no longer even looked remotely like foxes. Their heads were far more angular, almost looking like an arrow. The shapes of their muzzles had also changed, now looking more like a dragons maw than any mammals face. He was even able to make out the jagged elongated fangs that lined their mouths.

"_Rika…what happened to you?"_

Hearing the four fox spirits hiss and snarl, he watched as their front legs grew longer but no thicker, giving them an almost skeletal appearance. The last thing he saw change was the scythe shaped claws extending from the front 'paws'.

"**Go"**

Takato flinched at her order. Whether it was from the lack of emotion in her voice, or the almost eager hissing shrieks that echoed from the four fox spirits he wasn't sure.

In a flash, they sprinted off in different directions before she herself once again disappeared from sight.

"Takato…something's wrong with Sakuyamon."

From within his bubble, the boy was pulling his arms around himself and feeling a chill run through him.

"_I know…I can feel it too. Guilmon, do you have any idea what's going on here?"_

"I…no, Renamon never acts like this, not even when she's angry."

Hearing several Stingmon cry out in pain, followed by the now familiar predatory shrieking hiss, Takato shuddered.

"_This is wrong; I've never seen Sakuyamon use her Spirit Strike like this before. Normally Rika only brings it out against big targets, or something that moves too fast for normal attacks. These guys can't even fly right now. It makes no sense. Why is she dragging the fight out like this?"_

Takato's eyes widened when a Stingmon appeared right in front of him with its blade active.

Reacting quickly, he pulled back the Gram lance and readied his own attack.

"**Lightning-"**

The Stingmon suddenly cried out in pain before digitizing from its center outward.

Looking down, Takato felt his stomach lurch when he saw Sakuyamon's staff protruding from the insect's abdomen.

"_She…she…impaled him…"_

Having to force the bile in his throat back down, Takato wasn't fast enough to speak. Before the first syllable could leave his mouth, Sakuyamon again flickered out of existence.

Realization struck him quite literally like lightning.

This wasn't a battle.

It wasn't even a fight.

It was an execution.

Trying to pull himself together, a flash of red off to the side caught his attention.

"**Rika, there're more of them in the trees! Watch out for snipers!"**

Pulling back the Aegis shield, Takato threw it chakram style and destroyed the Stingmon that had been about to launch a sneak attack on Sakuyamon. Slowly rising from his crouched position, Gallantmon begain moving to reclaim his shield when he heard a buzzing sound from above.

"You'll pay for that! Spiking Strike!"

Turning, Gallantmon barely had enough time to dodge the incoming stinger attack.

He might have been weak, but he was _far_ from finished.

Moving his right leg back, he sidestepped the attack then grabbed the large insect by the forearm.

"**I'm really getting sick of that move!"** Rearing back his free hand, Takato sent it soaring into Stingmon's face. He had only meant to buy himself some breathing room, so he was surprised when the digimon digitized on impact. At this point however he was beyond caring. He was still in a fight for his life, and he had no intentions of 'checking out' in the foreseeable future.

Jogging over to grab his shield, Takato scanned the area.

"_Hey Guilmon, you picking up any more scents up in the trees?"_

"I….I'm trying…Takato…"

"_I know boy, and I'm sorry for dragging you into this….but we have to keep going. Rika needs our help. She's strong, but these bugs are more trouble than she's probably going to give them credit for. We need to make sure she stays strong so she can keep their attention."_

Almost to prove his point, two more Stingmon landed, one on each side with their blades ready.

"**How many of you are there?!"** Gallantmon shouted before spinning into a kneeling crouch and using the side of the Aegis shield as an arm mounted blade, slicing the two Stingmon through the midsection with a single stroke.

"**Let them come."** Sakuyamon hissed as she struck down two more with her staff.

Looking up, Takato frowned as he found his own temper starting to flair. Between everything that had happened on their 'date' including the virtual destruction of everything he had thought he knew and or held dear, he was also in an extreme amount of pain from being struck with several Spiking Strikes. Added to that was his worry and fear over the way Rika had been acting since she had arrived. Mentally, emotionally, and thanks to the fact it was around one in the morning, physically, he was drained.

"**AAAHHHHHHHH!"**

"**Sakuyamon!"** Snapping his head up, Takato saw that one of the Stingmon had managed to sneak up on her while she had been momentarily distracted from a kill. Having been caught completely off guard, the shock from the attack had nearly been as bad as the pain.

When he saw her fall to her knees clutching her sides, everything turned red.

Pushing off as hard as he could, Gallantmon held up his shield and charged.

"**GET AWAY FROM HER!"**

Three Stingmon had the misfortune of standing between him and Rika during the charge, and were quickly digitized from the sheer force his ramming attack carried. Had he been thinking clearly at the time he would have absorbed their data to continue healing himself, but right now, getting to Rika was his only concern.

Seeing the Stingmon that had just delivered the attack raise its arm to attack her a second time, the red haze completely filled Takato's vision. Pulling back on his left arm, he swung, this time using the Aegis like an arm mounted club and slammed Rika's would be attacker into a tree, snapping it in half and digitizing the hapless enemy.

"**Rika! Sakuyamon! Come on, you've got to get up!"**

He could see that she was still in better shape than he was, but the shock of being hit with such a painful attack for the first time had caught her off guard.

Reaching out, he grabbed her by the shoulder and with an almost déjà vu sense, pulled her to her feet.

"**We need to watch each others backs, I can't take many more of those, and I don't think you can either. You're not built for taking punishment like I am,"** Gallantmon pointed out.

"**G-gee you think! Kami that stings! How many of those did they hit you with?"** Sakuyamon hissed between her clenched teeth.

"**Not sure, at least five or six, but I don't think I could survive taking another two. How much energy do you have left?"**

Sakuyamon scowled.

"**Not much, the Spirit Strike drains me pretty bad,"** she replied with an angry growl.

"**Yeah, that's what I was afraid of," **Gallantmon admitted with a nervous chuckle. The two of them were standing back to back, both protecting the others life silently, just as they always had.

"**Any bright ideas Takato?"** she asked through her clenched teeth.

"**Just one, don't die,"** he shot back.

Sakuyamon snorted in response as she readied her staff.

While they had been talking, the Stingmon's numbers were once again refilled to the point they had been before the fight had even started. The only difference was that now both Gallantmon and Sakuyamon were surrounded, and both running low on power.

Without any perceivable command, the Stingmon began their attacks. The entire group didn't charge as a whole, but a decent sized number of them had, staggering their charge so that they came in waves making it harder to block or even see all the attacks that came.

Summoning his Gram lance back into existence, Gallantmon sliced through two with a diagonal slash, then destroyed another with a backswing from the Aegis. Following through with the momentum, he brought the Gram back with a wide arc to destroy another three that had gotten too close.

"_This is bad, we can't keep going like this, we're going to tire out eventually."_

Out of the corner of his eye, Takato saw a Stingmon that had slipped into Rika's blind spot.

"**Rika! Duck and pivot left now!"**

With a single fluid motion, Gallantmon brought the Gram lance around with a reverse swing and slashed though the Stingmon. At the same time, Sakuyamon stooped and spun on her heels under the moving blade, bringing her staff up in time to slash through a Stingmon that had been about to hit Gallantmon with its Spiking Strike.

Now facing the opposite direction that had been moments ago, both pushed their backs against each other, wordlessly telling the other they were ok.

Two more Stingmon then charged Gallantmon in an attempted flanking maneuver. Retracting his lance, Gallantmon hit the one that reached him first with his shield, momentarily stunning it. Before the second one's blade could reach him, he grabbed the first one and used it as a shield to block the second ones attack. Not wasting the small opening this had granted him, Takato once again summoned the Gram, sprouting the lance back onto his arm and piercing the horrified Stingmon before it could react.

Taking a snapshot look over his shoulder, Takato saw that Sakuyamon had thrust her staff into the ground and was using hand to hand combat on the Stingmon, taking them out with one or at most two strikes each.

"_Wait a minute, why is her staff in the ground? She only does that when…"_

"**Rika, you're not going to…"**

"**No other choice Gogglehead. It's our only shot,"** she replied quickly, not wanting to risk the Stingmon figuring out her plan.

The Stingmon continued to charge them, sometimes one at a time, sometimes two or more. The results were always the same however as the two Mega's countered and destroyed each and every one that dared step up to attack them.

It was a losing battle, but it was all they could do for now.

"**Can't you go Crimson Mode on them or something? Those little white wings of yours would be **_**really**_** nice right about now,"** Sakuyamon growled as she used an upwards palm trust to digitized another Stingmon that had tried a blindside charge.

"**It's not something I can actually control, it happens when it happens! Don't you think I would have been using it by now if I could?"**

"**Well I had to ask! We can't hold these guys off for much longer, I'm running out of steam here!"**

Inside his bubble, Takato frowned.

"_She's right, eventually, one of them is going to get through, and we can't keep this up forever. I know she's running low on power by now, and I'm standing on my last leg. If I could fly we would have a chance but…"_

The longer the fight continued the harder and harder he could see the toll it was taking on Sakuyamon. She wasn't meant for long battles of attrition; she was best suited for hit and run or blitz missions.

"_I can last a little longer, I know that…but if she keeps going…"_

Looking over his shoulder, he could see that her breathing was haggard. She didn't have much time left.

"**How much longer?"** He asked, slicing through another Stingmon before bringing up his shield to block one that had been shadowing the first.

Glancing back at her staff, Sakuyamon narrowed her eyes.

"**Any time now, but I only have one chance. We have to make it count,"** she shot back.

Nodding to himself, Takato concentrated on Gallantmon. He could feel the cracks and chips in his armor, but underneath the fatigue and pain there was still more than enough power for what he needed.

"**Sakuyamon, I have a plan, but I need your help to pull it off alright?"** As he spoke, Takato raised Gallantmon's shield to his chest.

"**You sure it will work?"** She asked shakily.

"**No, but it's our best chance. I need you to stand right beside me, to my right. After that, just roll with it ok?"** As he spoke he once again retracted his lance. To make this work he was going to need both hands.

Pulling her staff from the ground, Sakuyamon pushed her back against Gallantmon's, making sure he could feel the back of her left leg pushing against the back of his right, signaling she was ready and understood where to move.

"**Alright, here it goes, Shield of the Just!"**

The recoil from the attack pushed back on Gallantmon like he was standing behind a jet engine, but he didn't budge an inch. Seeing a flash of white and gold move to his right side, Gallantmon roared as he pushed with every ounce of strength he could muster.

Shield of the Just was by far one of the most powerful attacks the Tamer's had at their disposal. However, like all attacks, it had its short comings. The biggest one that had plagued Takato was the massive, almost concussive impact of its recoil. No matter how much stronger he became, the attack still threatened to knock him off balance unless his feet were firmly set. This meant the attack could only be fired in one direction, and if it missed, it missed completely.

After four years of trial, and a few errors, Takato had figured out a way to rectify this.

At least in theory.

Heaving with all his might, Takato pushed Gallantmon's free hand against the back side of the Aegis shield.

At first nothing happened. But then, ever so slowly, the shield, and thus the beam of energy firing from said shield, began to move towards Gallantmon's left.

With one final roar, Gallantmon threw his left arm back in a wide arc.

The effect was devastating. The ruby red beam moved like a gigantic sword of energy, destroying every Stingmon that had been in front of him, to his left, or behind him.

The second the beam stopped, Gallantmon fell to his knees panting for breath, having spent the lion's share of his remaining power.

"**That…should…do it…there CANT be any left…you can handle the rest right Sakuyamon?"**

Half hoping it was true, Takato waited for what he knew would happen.

Sure enough another twenty Stingmon flew out and joined the ones who had been standing on Gallantmon's right side.

Taking a quick head count, Takato noted that there were fewer in this group than there had been in the previous groups, somewhere between five or seven less.

"_Alright, looks like that's the last of them."_

During the fight, Takato had been very careful to keep track of the Stingmon as they came from the woods and joined in to help their hive fight. What he had noticed was it had been a perfect one for one replacement cycle. Their numbers never increased, but at the same time they never decreased, always keeping it around thirty or so out on the field.

The fact that there were only twenty four left told him that these were all that was left.

"Spiking Strike!"

As one, the swarm charged the two weakened Mega's.

Exactly as he had planned.

"**Go for it Rika,"** he muttered under his breath, but still loud enough for her to hear.

Nodding, the armored shaman spun her staff around her wrist, and charged the swarm of approaching Stingmon.

When the brood was no more than twenty feet from her, Sakuyamon gave a ferial war cry and leapt into the air.

"**Talisman Sphere!"**

Slamming the butt end of her staff into the ground with enough force to actually create fissures, Sakuyamon forced every last ounce of power she had left into the attack.

First was what looked like a blue circular wave that flew out from her in all directions. This was quickly followed by a massive explosion of blue and white light so powerful it turned night into day, illuminating a decent sized chunk of Shinjuku park.

Using what little strength he had left, Takato had managed to bring up Gallantmon's Aegis shield to protect himself from the blast. He wasn't sure if the attack was powerful enough to actually kill him or not, but he wasn't about to take any chances being this close to the blast zone.

Then, just as suddenly as it came, it disappeared.

Shoulders sagging from complete and total exhaustion, Gallantmon let out a sigh of relief.

"**Finally, its over."**

Takato had been surprised that the blast had been powerful enough to evaporate the rain falling for a few seconds, but was more disappointed in the fact it hadn't stopped raining.

Looking up, Takato was thankful for the thunderstorm overhead for once as its flashing light allowed him to see.

Gasping for breath and held up solely by determination (and by leaning heavily on her staff) was Sakuyamon.

In a weak flash of pale blue and purple light, the Mega disappeared and was replaced with a tall yellow fox and her human partner.

"**Rika, you-"**

Before he was able to finish the sentence, Takato saw Rika drop to he knees, then fall face forward onto the ground unconscious. Renamon wasn't in much better shape; having fallen to her knees then was forced to hold herself up with her paws.

With tremendous effort, Takato forced Gallantmon to take a step forward.

"YOU!"

A green flash buzzed from the tree line and slammed into Renamon, knocking her onto her back several feet away.

"You destroyed my hive!"

"_No!"_

Looking back over to Renamon, Takato felt the familiar icy chill of panic when he saw her barely able to push herself up.

Turning back to Rika, Takato's gaze was locked with a pair of angry red eyes that seethed with rage.

"You will pay!"

The Stingmon reached down and grabbed Rika by the back of her trench coat with one hand and quickly yanked her off the ground.

"Starting with you!"

Takato's eyes shifted over the Renamon, hoping to see that she was about to jump in, that she had only been feigning exhaustion, but that hope died when he saw she was struggling just to climb onto her hands and knees.

"_No, this isn't happening."_

"You should have left when you had the chance Sir Knight. If you had, none of this would have happened!" The Stingmon shouted as it threw back its free arm.

"_No, I can't make it in time, even at full strength, I can't run that fast, and if I attack, I'll still hit Rika!"_

"Spiking Strike!"

Seeing the purple blade of energy extend from the insects wrist and move forward, something snapped.

"**Rika!"**

Takato blinked.

In the back of his mind, he heard a sound, a thunderous explosion followed by something that could only be called a howling roar of pain, it was unlike anything he had ever heard before, and a part of him prayed to never hear it again,

When his eyes opened, he was looking directly into the red glowing eyes of Stingmon, holding the digimon several feet off the ground by its neck with one hand.

"**Don't you DARE touch her!"** boomed throughout the park, drowning out the roar of the ongoing thunder and splintering snaps of lighting as though they weren't even there.

Gnashing his teeth, Takato was faintly aware of the red glow moving down his arm and onto the immobilized Stingmon.

Feeling his lips pull back into a twisted sneer, Takato willed the armored hand to squeeze tighter.

"**How does it feel to have you life in someone else's hands? Well?"**

The digimon's green exoskeleton was quickly fading into an almost ash grey color, and the red light of its eyes was dimming like a dying flame.

"Takato! That's enough!"

Looking back over his shoulder, Takato was able to see Renamon out of the corner of his sight, just barely through the red haze. He found it surprisingly easy to ignore the flashing lightning above at this point as well as the booming thunder that reverberated throughout his armored body.

"Rika needs help."

Feeling something between disgust and annoyance bubble up from his stomach, Takato willed the armored knight to toss the digimon in his hand like it was yesterday's garbage.

"**Is she ok?"** He asked turning to face her, not sure how she and Rika went from being in front of him to suddenly appearing behind him.

"Yes, but she is very-"

"Much dead! Spiking Strike!"

Without so much as a twitch, the knights lance extended from his right arm, then swung out to his side, slicing clean through the Stingmon as it flew by him, reducing it to data.

Retracting the lance, Takato willed the armored body to continue moving towards Renamon and her tamer.

Feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him, Takato could do nothing as he dropped to his knees when he was mere feet from his destination. Whatever had given him the strength to continue earlier was gone now.

In a flash, the last remaining Mega disappeared, leaving behind a nearly dead on his feet teenage boy kneeling in front of Rika, and his unconscious partner at his side.

Shuddering as he felt the rain falling on him, Takato shifted his eyes from Rika to Renamon.

The yellow fox's eyes were narrowed, though he wasn't sure why. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought she saw him as an enemy.

"We…can't…stay out in this," Takato stated, swallowing to wet his dry throat.

Renamon's eyes shifted from him to the form of his partner, then back to him. Remaining silent for a moment, she then looked back down to her partner.

"I hate to ask this of you, but would it be possible for Rika and myself to stay with you for the night. I do not have the energy necessary to return to the Hata estate."

Shivering in the cold rain, Takato looked back to his partner, then back to Renamon. Forcing his exhausted mind to continue working, the boy tried to come up with something, anything to help them out.

A flash of lightning once again illuminated the park, and something behind Renamon.

"_That…that might work…sure it's not the best, but I think it's the best we can manage."_

Shaking his head, Takato coughed.

"Sorry, but…I don't think I've got that much left in me."

Renamon's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Then what do you suppose we do? Sit out here in the rain?"

Doing his best to ignore the edge in her voice, Takato motioned with his head behind Renamon.

"The hideout, we've got our supplies there in case of an emergency remember? I'd say this qualifies as one wouldn't you?" He asked trying to put a light touch of humor into his voice.

The yellow fox appeared to be thinking it over for a moment, before nodding. Reaching her arms under the young redhead, she lifted her tamer bridal style and turned towards the hideout.

Moving to his partner, Takato tried to wake the red raptor, but his every attempt was met with a grunt, snort, or loud snore.

"_Great, I don't have a prayer of waking him up; he's down for the count. I can't drag him to the hideout either it's too far, but I can't just leave him out here all night."_

Looking back up, Takato's red eyes met the annoyed icy blue irises of Renamon. She was still holding Rika bridal style, but was haunching herself over the girl to shield her tamer from as much of the rain as she could.

"_Good thing Renamon's strong, not like she'd actually need to be, Rika weighs like, what, seventy? Eighty pounds?"_

In the back of his mind, he was able to hear the insidious voice of Terriermon whispering something, something that Kazu's voice, and surprisingly Henry and Ryo's agreed with.

Turning bright red and gulping like a fish, Takato bit his lip, and thanked Kami for the life he had had and enjoyed for the last fifteen and a half years.

"Renamon…uhh…I need help here…with Guilmon…"

The yellow fox narrowed her eyes as Takato rose from his kneeled position and approached her.

"I can not carry both Rika and your partner Takato," she all but growled.

Steeling himself, Takato took a deep breath.

"I'm not strong enough to carry Guilmon, but…I," clenching his fists, Takato continued. "I should be strong enough to carry Rika."

For a long moment, nothing happened. The rain continued to fall on Takato and Renamon, running down their faces and backs as the thunder and lightning continued to shake the heavens above.

"Please, Renamon, I know that Rika must hate me right now, but I would _never_ drop her, I swear."

Narrowing her eyes further, the vulpine warrior took several careful steps towards the young boy until she was standing directly in front of him.

Swallowing the lump in his throat and biting his lip until a familiar coppery taste trickled onto his tongue, Takato stretched out his arms in front of him almost the same way a child asking a parent to pick them up would have.

With a gentleness Takato never would have thought Renamon to possess, the fox digimon lowered her partner into Takato's arms so that one was holding her by the shoulder and around her back while the other supported her beneath her knees.

Though she said nothing, the look in her eyes gave more than enough warning.

_Drop her and I'll drop you._

_From the top of a high rise._

He was either unwilling or unable to show his fear at the moment, something he would forever be thankful for.

When she pulled away so that she was no longer supporting any of Rika's weight, Takato felt the strain on his tired muscles. His guess hadn't been far off, Rika was actually fairly light, just as he had surmised. However, he was tired, hungry, sleep deprived and still in a decent amount of pain, so it was more difficult than it would have been under normal circumstances.

When Renamon was absolutely sure that Takato was able to hold her tamer and wouldn't drop her, she quickly moved to retrieve his slumbering partner.

The boy nearly cried when he saw her lift the 'red stomach' as he was sometimes called with no visible effort at all.

Nodding that she was ready, the two made their way as quickly as they could to the hideout.

Which was unfortunately somewhere around the neighborhood of 'slow jog' at best.

* * *

Reaching the tree line, Takato sighed in relief, thankful that he wouldn't be getting any more drenched than he already was. He was still cursing himself mentally for wearing his lightest jacket out into the rain, but that had long since become moot.

Hearing a moaning sound and feeling movement in his arms, Takato looked down at his current 'cargo'.

He was still extremely nervous about this entire situation, but his worry and fear had managed to put a strong enough collar on that to prevent it from becoming too much of an issue. Another factor that helped keep him in check was that the lightning from the ongoing thunderstorm had allowed him more than enough light to examine Rika as he carried her.

What he saw frightened him.

Her skin was paler than normal, which was actually saying quite a bit since he used to joke that she was only five or so shades away from being albino. But what was really setting the alarm bells off in his head was the fact that her lips were turning a light bluish color.

Looking back to their destination, he saw that they had almost reached the hideout. All he had left to do was climb the stairs.

A task easier said than done.

While she wasn't exactly a heavy load to carry, she was very awkward one. He was used to carrying balanced loads, like groceries bags, dishes, or even laundry.

Not people.

Tightening his hold on her so that he was absolutely sure he wouldn't drop her, Takato raised his foot to the first step.

"_Success!"_

One by one he climbed the stairs, aware that the longer it took to more likely both he and she were to get sick but unable to do anything about it.

After just a short period of time, he had almost made it to the top. All that was left were the last six steps and he was home scot free.

Then, as he set down his foot on the next step, his worst fear came true.

He slipped.

It was only half a heartbeat, but to him it was like slow motion. He felt himself falling forward, being pulled down by his 'cargo' towards the hard cement steps below.

"_No! I won't drop her! I won't!"_

While he still had time, he quickly buckled the leg the was still standing, making it so that instead of falling straight forward and onto Rika, he fell straight down, allowing his knee to absorb the impact of the fall.

"Takato!"

Not trusting what would come out if he opened his mouth, Takato bit down hard on his tongue, only allowing a throaty whining sound to escape.

It hurt, no other way around it. His knee had dropped two feet in just over a second and had absorbed the impact of both him and Rika's weight.

Feeling tears well up in the corners of his eyes; Takato released his tongue and clenched his teeth, as he rose using only his other leg to push himself back up to a standing position.

Taking a quick peek at Rika, he saw that she was still out cold and had apparently not even been aware of what happened moments ago.

Swallowing the pain of his throbbing knee down into his stomach, he continued forward, mentally reminding himself that there were only a few steps left and everything would be ok.

* * *

Ok, so everything was NOT ok.

Looking around the hideout, Takato didn't know if he

A Wanted to cry.

B Wanted the curse louder than the storm that continued to rage above them.

Or C simply scream as loud as he could.

Feeling Rika move in his arms, thus reminding him that he was not alone, he chose option D and silently stewed.

Apparently, the Wormmon had indeed known about the portal, and had been planning on making it their 'home'.

Looking around the small concrete building, Takato felt that all too familiar twitch of anger in the back of his mind screaming about the injustices of life.

Littering the floor were the crewed up remains of several sleeping bags, pillows, backpacks, food containers (all of which were empty) and everything else the tamers had stored up incase they ever had to make a quick run to the digital world.

It never hurt to be too carful after all.

But now it seemed that all of their preparation had done nothing more than give a now deceased swarm of Wormmon bedding material.

With a not so very small eyebrow twitch, Takato went to the back corner, the furthest point from the bare opening and set Rika down on the 'bed' the Wormmon had been making.

"I take it you did not expect this," Renamon asked as she sat Guilmon down a small distance from Rika on the same 'bed'.

Shoulders slumping, Takato groaned.

"Actually, the way everything has been going lately, I kinda did," he joked dryly as he started digging though the mound the Wormmon had made out of the Tamer's supplies.

"What are you looking for?"

Without looking up, Takato continued to dig through the 'nest' while trying to avoid making too much noise or movement that would disturb Rika.

Guilmon on the other hand he knew wouldn't be waking until morning..

"Anything they didn't chew into cotton balls, there's got to be…ah ha!" With a triumphant whisper the boy held up a tied pair of socks that had not been chewed into nesting material.

One slim black eyebrow lifted in response.

"A pair of socks?"

Grinning, the boy held up the one other item he had found.

"A pair of socks _and_ a half chewed tee shirt," he corrected her.

Ignoring the confused look on the digimon's face, Takato peeled off his thoroughly soaked jacket and tossed it across the room, ignoring the _spluch_ sound it made upon impact.

"Renamon, is Rika a light sleeper?" Takato asked as he made his way over to the still unconscious redhead.

"Usually, why?" Renamon responded carefully.

"Needed to know," he replied as he kneeled next to her.

Gulping, the boy reached out with one nervous and shivering hand, and softly grasped Rika by the shoulder.

"Rika, hey, Rika wake up."

When the only reaction he got was a light groan he tried again, this time shaking her a little bit harder.

"Come on Rika, you need to wake up, come on."

Though the thunderstorm was still raging outside, Takato was able to make out a very soft grumbling sound coming from the girl's stomach.

"Renamon…did Rika eat anything today?" He asked with a now slightly more worried expression and tone.

The fox shook her head as she replied. "A light breakfast, and whatever she ate with _you_. She didn't seem to be hungry afterwards."

Takato flinched at the biting undertone he knew she had used on purpose.

"_I'm never going to be able to make up for that am I?"_

Clenching his fists Takato looked back at the only other conscious individual present with a light scowl.

"Look, now isn't the time for that, I screwed up and I know it ok? Right now we have bigger problems to deal with. If Rika didn't eat anything, then her body burned up everything she had in her system during the battle. Between that and the storm, she could be in serious trouble." As he spoke Takato reached out and pulled back the collar of Rika's trench coat before reaching in with his free hand.

"What are you doing?"

Ignoring the hostile tone of the now approaching digimon, Takato retracted his hand and let out a sigh of relief.

"I was checking to make sure the inside of her jacket was dry, looks like the things water proof, so that's one good thing out of this mess."

Getting up from his kneeling position Takato moved to the bottom of the 'bed' and dropped back onto his knees, this time beside Rika's feet.

"She didn't have a lot to eat today and its freezing cold out here. If she had gotten too wet then she'd be in serious trouble," Takato explained as he took several deep breaths.

"But that's not the case," Renamon stated.

"Thankfully, no. But there's still one little thing to worry about."

Taking one last deep breath, the boy reached out with both hands. Shaking like a leaf, he started to undo her shoelaces.

"Her coat kept most of her dry, but I know for a fact that her shoes have to be soaked, and that's almost as dangerous," Takato explained with an obviously nervous half cracking voice as his trembling hands undid the laces.

Renamon narrowed her eyes at his actions, but much to her surprise he ignored it completely.

"_How_ do you know that to be true?" She asked, keeping a very close eye on his hands.

Though he was sitting on his knees, the boy could still move his lower legs enough to show her.

Lifting one foot just a few inches, he let it drop back.

_Spluch_

"Cause mine are like standing in full buckets right now," Takato explained sourly.

His trembling fingers finally having undone the first shoe, he gingerly reached for the second set of laces and starting untying them just as nervously as he had the first pair.

"She could be wrapped up in electric blankets and full quilts, but if her shoes and socks are full of cold water it would be the same as throwing her in a meat locker," Takato said as Renamon looked up from his hands to his face.

Taking several deep breaths, Takato steeled what nerves he had left as he took a firm grip on her left shoe and pulled it off in one quick motion. Holding the shoe up, he tipped it upside down making sure Renamon saw the water leak out from it.

Seeing the mildly accepting expression on Renamon's face he set it down then reached for the second shoe, and pulled it off.

"Normally this wouldn't be a problem since she would be home right now, you know, where it's nice and warm, but since she's out here…" Takato left the sentence hanging as he pulled the second shoe off, and like the first tipped it over to empty it of water.

Setting the second shoe down next to the first one, he gulped before reaching out to touch her socks.

"Dang, their soaked too," Takato groaned.

"Is that a problem?" Renamon asked, now partially understanding what the problem was and what the boy was trying to do.

"Yeah, it means Rika's probably going to kill me tomorrow morning," Takato replied with a mirthless chuckle.

Confused by his choice of words, Renamon watched as he carefully reached for the top of her right sock and slowly pulled it off.

A bolt of lightning flashed, giving him a brief view of the now bare foot he held in his hand.

Eyes wide, Takato dropped the sock in his hand and reached for the second one, all but tearing it from her foot.

"Kami, her feet are almost blue," Takato growled as he pulled the tattered tee shirt he had found earlier and used it as a makeshift towel to quickly dry her feet.

"What does it mean?" Renamon asked, worried by the boys tone.

"It means her bloods not reaching her feet because her hearts slowing down!" Takato hissed propping her feet up onto his knees. Grabbing her right foot, he slowly started to massage it before picking up speed. He was soon moving his hands in the same pattern he would when making a bread roll, around the 'dough' which in this case was her foot, and in a circular pattern to work up as much heat as possible.

"_This is bad, really really bad,"_ Takato shouted mentally as he forced his exhausted brain to work over time. He was trying to remember everything he could from camping, all the little warnings and tips his cousin and grandfather had given him over the years regarding the cold.

"_Skin color comes from blood flowing, no skin color, no blood flow."_

Though it had never actually happened to him and he had never seen it for himself, his grandfather had told him plenty over the years when they used to go camping together during his summer breaks.

In the war, he had seen many men suffer from some of the worst things imaginable. Ranging from frost bite to trench foot, all of them had bad consequences for the sufferer, and there was no actual cure, only treatment.

"_Keep your feet dry and keep them warm, that's what he said to do, but how the heck am I supposed to do that!?"_

Cupping his hands together around her foot he blew hot air on it several times before resuming the rubdown.

"_I know it's not as bad as what Grandpa was talking about, but it's still not good."_

His eyes darted down to the only other item that the Wormmon had spared from using as nest material.

"_No other choice. First in, last out."_

Putting down her right foot, he picked up her left and gave it the same treatment, rubbing it to try and get the blood flowing again and blowing hot air on it to give it a jump start.

"Renamon, can you sit beside her? Like, really close?"

The yellow fox nodded and quickly sat herself beside her tamer, sensing that the boy knew what he was doing, and his urgency.

Using another flash of lightning as a light source, Takato saw that the small, and still fairly cold foot he was holding in his hand was no longer a light blue color, but was somewhere between its usual pale white tone and the bluish white it had been earlier.

Grabbing the pair of socks he had found earlier, he quickly unrolled them and slipped them over her feet before once again gaving them the same treatment he had earlier. After giving each foot a minute of rubbing and blowing, he rose from his spot at her feet and moved up to her side.

"Ok Renamon, you've just been upgraded from partner to blanket, keep her warm ok?" Takato stated more than asked as he gently lifted the girl and quickly deposited her onto the digimon beside her.

"I'll see if I can find something else to help keep her feet warm-" Renamon cut him off by holding up her paw. With a quick fluid movement, the yellow fox draped her long tail around her tamer's legs, depositing as much of it as she could over her feet.

"Is that sufficient?"

The red eyed youth nodded and gave a small smile before turning his attention towards his snoring best friend.

* * *

Renamon watched as Takato moved from her and Rika's side to that of his own partner carefully. He seemed to be studying the slumbering raptor for a moment before doing anything else. After a few seconds passed he brought out the same torn up tee shirt he had used to dry Rika's feet and used it to dry off his partner.

"_How did he know…does it matter?"_

Reviewing the events she had witnessed just moments ago, Renamon found herself caught in a mental war.

Upon seeing the state Rika's feet were in, he had snapped into his 'leader' mode, quickly taking charge of the situation and bringing it under control. At the same time however, she could still hear the echoing words her tamer had spoken to him several hours ago. Coupled with her actions between then and the battle, she was deeply confused and wasn't sure what to think.

Out of respect for her tamer, she had granted them privacy during lunch, knowing if she was needed she would be summoned. Now however she was regretting that decision. Just when she thought she was getting a handle on how the human mind worked, something like this came along and proved how far she still had to go.

"Hey Renamon, you ok?"

Snapping her out of her thoughts, she was met with the dark red eyes of the boy her thoughts had been centered on earlier.

"Yes, I am fine. A little tired, but I will be ok. Are you certain that Rika is…safe?" She wasn't exactly sure what the proper word for this situation was, but knew he would understand her intent.

Takato gave a tired grin and nodded.

"Yeah, she'll be fine now, as long as she stays warm anyways. Oh, and thanks for bringing Guilmon up here, I was thinking I'd be out camping in the rain again," he joked weakly.

Though he was only joking, Renamon knew what he said was truthful. Had she not brought his partner herself, he would have spent the night out in the middle of the woods, rain or no rain to make sure he was safe.

The yellow fox nodded before replying.

"Thank you for helping Rika."

Takato waved it off and shrugged. "She might be mad enough to leave me in some ditch to find my way home, she's still my friend, it was nothing, so don't worry about it," he replied nonchalantly as he took a seat on the opposite side of her and Rika.

* * *

"_Ok, Rika's good, Guilmon's alright, and Renamon's doing fine, now I can take care of myself," _Takato thought as he pulled off his own shoes and cringed when he tipped them upside down.

"Ugh great, moms going to kill me, these were brand new too."

Muddy brown water _oozed,_ not poured, not ran, but _oozed_ from the shoes.

Quickly removing his own once white now brown and green socks he tossed them aside and dried his feet with the now wet torn tee shirt that he had been using as a makeshift towel.

"_Man I can't even feel my toes anymore. I swear next time, I'm getting wool socks."_

Giving his own feet the same treatment he had given Rika's, he bit his lip as the numb coldness was quickly replaced with a sharp stinging sensation.

"_It's like walking on nails, or broken glass," _he thought with a cringe.

"…_how do I even know what that feels like?"_ Chalking it up to his overactive imagination, Takato clenched his teeth when the pain reached the level of nearly being unbearable.

"Are you ok?"

"I'll, be ok, just give me a minute," the boy gasped between pained breaths, surprised that Renamon had been watching him so closely.

When the stinging needle sensation gradually became a dull ache accompanied by a chilled throbbing, he got up one last time.

"Ok, that's it, I'm done, night Renamon," Takato said as he dropped unceremoniously in the space between Renamon and Guilmon.

"_This has been the worst day I have ever-"_

Just as he was closing his eyes, he noticed Renamon getting up.

"Uh, Renamon, what are you doing?" Takato asked as the yellow fox rose from her spot, obviously trying not to jostle her 'cargo' if at all possible.

"_Awe man, there goes half my heat for the night, all that fur's actually pretty warm."_ His internal musing was cut short when Renamon lowered one arm so that she was holding Rika up with the one at her back.

"What are you?"

His eyes widened when she used her free paw to quickly remove the long trench coat Rika had been wearing since she had arrived in the park.

"What are you doing!? She needs that to-"

"Keep warm, yes I know, just as you do. Takato, you're soaking wet, and you've been shivering since you and Guilmon dedigivolved back in the forest."

Now even more confused, he watched as she kneeled down to his level, and then nearly had a heart attack as she gently placed Rika sideways across his lap.

"Rena-"

"Shhhhhhh, let her sleep. You need the warmth as much as she does, I will explain this to her myself when she awakens," Renamon whispered cautiously.

Stuttering and sputtering, the boy felt his cheeks turn a shade of atomic red as the girls head was laid to rest against his shoulder.

Looking back up at Renamon, his sputtering only increased when she wrapped the long trench coat around the two of them like a blanket.

"Renamon! She's going to kill me!" Takato hissed between clenched teeth.

His pleas went unheard however as the yellow fox returned to her previous spot, and leaned against the shoulder Rika was currently using as a pillow. She did however move her tail to cover his feet which were sticking out from the bottom of the makeshift blanket.

"_OhcrudRika'sgoingtokillmeshe'sgoingtokillmeIknowitshe'sgoingtokillmeslowlyandextremelypainfullyI'mdeadI'mdeadI'mdeadI'msodead!"_

The death spiral his thoughts were currently plummeting through was brought to a screaching halt when he heard a weak mewing sound and felt Rika's head shift against his shoulder, moving closer to his neck.

"_I…I can feel her breathing…"_

Speaking of breathing, the poor boy was on the verge of hyperventilating. He wasn't sure what was going to kill him first. Rika, his blood pressure, or based on his luck for the last twenty four hours, a stray bolt of lightning.

The sad thing was that right now he was actually hoping it would be the lightning.

After a minute passed and no lightning struck him, he risked a side glance at her face. It was just a quick darting of the eyes, but that one brief glimpse quickly became a peek, then a look, and then finally a stare.

Her usually passive indifferent blank expression had been replaced with a more relaxed one accompanied with a very, very, almost most invisibly tiny smile. Not a smirk, not a sneer, and not a grin, but an honest to goodness smile, something he only saw from her on rare occasions.

"_She looks…almost…"_

His thoughts were interrupted once again when she moved. She didn't get any closer (if that was even possible) but like a sleeping cat she seemed to be situating herself so that she was as comfortable as she could get, paying no mind to the poor boy who was now effectively her stand-in futon.

Gulping, Takato remained perfectly still as she shifted her hips and maneuvered her shoulders, placing herself into what he assumed was the 'desired' position of comfort, unaware that he had been holding his breath the entire time.

The experience was both harrowing and oddly fascinating to him. Sure, he was so scared right now that he knew his heartbeat must have sounded like one continuous thud, but on the other hand, he was fascinated by something about the girl in his arms, something he had never noticed before.

He knew she was thin, or 'compact' as she preferred to put it, but he had never noticed before that what little mass clung to her bones was almost purely muscle. Since his left arm was propping up her legs just under the knees, every time she shifted he could feel the muscles twitching through her jeans just under the skin. Likewise his right arm, which was wrapped behind her and holding onto her right shoulder, was able to feel the muscles in her back and shoulders move as she situated herself.

Now, he had had some *extremely* limited physical contact with her over the years, mostly limited to him grabbing her by the shoulder or hand to lift her up, yank her out of the way of an incoming attack, or on the once a year withdrawal she would suffer during her birthday in the form of a hug.

Needless to say, these experiences were few and far between. Added to that, whenever they did occur, his mind had too much on its plate to even take notice of what she felt like.

That, and in the back of his mind there was a little voice telling him that if he ever did, she would kill him.

He often assumed that voice to be his common sense.

Right now however, either because of everything that had happened within the last twelve hours, or because he was so physically, mentally and emotionally drained that he could no longer hear it, that voice was silent.

"_Geez, I knew she kept herself in shape, but…what does she do? Work out at a gym everyday or something?"_ he thought as she curled her knees around his left arm with an almost vice like grip.

Shifting his eyes to the form of Renamon, Takato felt something tug at the back of his mind. Her eyes were closed, but he knew better than to think even for a minute that she was sleeping.

"_And why did she put her in my arms like this? It's not like I was in any danger of freezing to death or anything. She goes from treating me like an enemy to putting Rika in my arms like she trusts me with her life. It doesn't make any sense."_

Hearing a light moan from his arms occupant, Takato's eyes shifted back to Rika's face.

Her face was scrunched in something between a frown and a scowl, the way she usually looked whenever she saw Kazu or Ryo, but still not as bad as when she would see Yamaki coming,

Unconsciously he tightened his grip on her when a boom of thunder crashed overhead.

"_Man I hate this. I'm stuck in the middle of a thunderstorm, soaking wet, col…ok, so I'm not exactly cold,"_ Takato's face flushed when Rika's warm breath tickled his neck, reminding him of that little fact _very_ effectively.

Relaxing his grip on her and leaning back, nothing happened. With a sigh and a quick prayer that this didn't wake her up, he moved his head closer to hers and used the side of his head to nudge Rika to his shoulder and away from his neck.

He might be the most stubborn human in all of creation, and had a nigh unbreakable will of iron.

But even he had limits, and the warm tickling of her breath was pushing it.

With a sigh of relief, Takato moved his head back once he had successfully 'pushed' her back to using his shoulder as a pillow and away from the crook of his neck.

It was strange, even though there was a humongous storm rumbling overhead, she was sleeping like a baby while he had a hard time sleeping if it was just a little thundershower. Something like this would have him up until morning.

As he observed her face, his expressions became something between a pout and a scowl.

"_Why does she get to sleep while I have to…"_

* * *

"_I can't believe you're so dense! How is it that you keep missing it? How do you not get it?! Jeri is not made of glass! She's not going to break just because some rumor gets around that we're dating! You go on and on about her like some lovesick puppy, and you know what?! I can't stand it anymore!"_

* * *

He decided to just let it go. As messed up as he was at the moment, he couldn't even begin to imagine how she was feeling. To have had feelings for him all this time, then to think they were going on a date, only to once again be reminded just how much of a Gogglehead he really was must have been like having something ripped out of her and stomped on.

Well, that's how he felt at least, so he knew it must have been ten times worse for her.

He was dense, not stupid or dumb; he just didn't tend to think very much. But, even with that shortcoming he was still fairly observant of what went on around him, especially when it came to his friends.

Most of the time.

* * *

"_When I got there, she pulled what had been eating away at me for…a long time out…I hated her for it, I wanted to hurt her…but then…I…I was happy…she had done it. She…told me something…about myself…something that…I already knew…but…refused to accept."_

* * *

He might not have caught on to the fact that she had harbored feelings for him all this time, but he did know just how difficult it was for her to express her emotions.

Aside from anger.

It hadn't been until their journey to the Digital World that he actually saw her give a true and honest smile. Of course it had quickly changed into a scowl when she found out that the message he wrote posing as her to her mother and grandmother had been signed with hearts.

After that she had relaxed little by little as time passed on. She was always guarded and never completely relaxed, but she did smile on occasion, and she had begun to show a wider range of emotions to both him and the others. He knew she had them, he knew she could feel them, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why she let so few of them show.

A crack of lightning flashed, giving him a brief moment of light to once again see her face clearly.

Though only a brief moment, the light was more like a camera flash than a lightning bolt in his mind. He had taken in every little detail and was able to perfectly recreate it within his mind.

Her pale white skin, light pink lips, thin red eyebrows, and the two dark red bangs of hair that flowed down from her forehead. It formed a perfect picture in his mind.

* * *

"_I wanted to do it…I really did…but now,"_

* * *

"_Rika…why me?"_

Narrowing his eyes, he ran over everything he could think of, starting from the time they first met to just before the incident yesterday.

Nothing

"_She attacked me, tried to have Renamon upload Guilmon…even after then…she's never really been…nice to me…or anyone for that matter. I know she's my friend, and I know I'm hers, but…why me? Why not someone more like Ryo, or even Henry? She comes from a rich family, she went to a private all girls school until a few years ago, she's the second best Digimon card player on earth, arguably the best Tamer alive, strong, smart…beautiful…so…why…me of all people? Someone like her usually wouldn't even want to be in the same room as someone like me, I'm a nobody! Her bathroom is probably bigger than my bedroom! Why on earth out of all the guys she knows would she pick me?!"_

It wasn't that he found this new revelation to be 'bad', after all, what guy _wouldn't_ want to find out that the daughter of a professional model felt a little something for them? What it _was_ however, was confusing, confusing and frightening.

It was confusing because they came from two entirely different worlds, with her quite literally being a princess and him a pauper.

It was frightening because he didn't even want to think about what would happen if he lost her friendship. She had been the pillar of strength he depended on since she first teamed up with him and Henry back at the storm drain. No matter what he did, no matter where he went, no matter what happened, she always had his back, she was always at his side, and she was always there to help. He was even more thankful that she was there to give him that shove in the right direction whenever things started going really bad. It was almost comical how she would always look to him as the team's leader no matter what, but she was the one _he_ turned to when things got really bad.

"_Rika…you…you can do so much better…why do you…why did you let…"_

Closing his eyes tightly, Takato forced back the tears he knew were trying to escape. He had broken his promise in the worst possible way. Not only had he allowed her to be hurt, but he had been the one to hurt her.

"_Do you not want her too?"_ Asked Henry's familiar voice.

"_Do I not want her to what? Hurt? Of course not! Why would I want her to be hurt?!"_ Takato demanded.

With the same patient and friendly tone he always had used when helping Takato in real life, 'Henry' continued.

"_Takato, you're avoiding the issue here, and you know it."_

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Takato tried to push Henry's voice out of his mind.

"_Takato, you're going to have to deal with this, you know that. You can't just let this continue, you can't run away from this, not this time."_

Feeling his body tremble slightly, Takato shook his head.

"_I…ca…I can't! I can't face something like this! This is too much, I'm just a kid, how am I supposed to-"_

"_It's been four years Takato, FOUR FREAKING YEARS! She's not the scared and fragile little twelve year old you knew back then. And I'm not the cold and hardened Ice Queen that I was! WE GREW UP! ALL OF US DID! EVEN KAZU! The only one who hasn't is YOU!"_ Rika's voice echoed through his mind.

"_But…what am…how…"_

Feeling several of the still standing shards in his mind crack, Takato flinched.

"_You can't keep running away like this Takato. You might be afraid of it, but you know it's true. You're just going to keep hurting others if you don't. Is that what you want? Do you want to avoid getting hurt by making the people who care about you take it for you?"_

"_I…I don't do that!"_ Takato defended.

"_Because it's true you idiot! You can ask her yourself! She was trying to help me, and I was thankful for her doing it! At least before half an hour ago I was, but now I wish I had never called her in the first place!"_ Rika's voice once again echoed.

"_I…"_

"_If you keep running from your problems, then they'll never go away, they'll just keep multiplying, and they'll keep hurting the people you care about most. You know they'll do anything to help you, even at their own expense. But do you really want that? Do you really want them to have to do that?"_

Feeling cornered, Takato's fear jumped to the forefront and tried to bail him out.

"_But…what would I do? How am I supposed to face something like this? How am I supposed to…how can I even think about risking my friendship with her? I might have had a crush on her in the past, but I got over it years ago! I'm with Jeri now! Why would do something to risk losing everything!?"_

"_I'll give you six reasons Takato Matsuki, _Henry warned before continuing.

"_Think back Takato, think back HARD, and remember, in all the years that have passed since we met each other. What have the others always done for you? What have they ever held back from you?"_

* * *

"_Their safety?"_

* * *

"Stop it!" Both Takato and Rika's heads snapped up to see Henry and Terriermon approaching.

"It's you!" Takato shouted in relief.

"It's me! It's him! And aren't you happy to see us?" Terriermon laughed as he hopped over to Renamon and Guilmon.

* * *

"_Their hearts"_

* * *

"You're not losing anything, goggle head," Rika replied with an unusually warm tone.

"Huh?"

"Everyone has to grow up sometime, it's natural. Taomon could be the most powerful digimon ever, but she's still my best friend," she explained, her voice carrying a knowing undercurrent.

* * *

"_Their strength?"_

* * *

Looking between the large 'Cable' D-Reaper, and the 'Emperor' D-Reaper, Takato felt himself being torn in two. He wanted to help his friends fight, he wanted to make sure they were safe, but at the same time, the longer they spent fighting here, the harder it was going to get for them to reach Jeri.

"**Takato we can handle this, you just focus on finding Jeri,"** Ryo assured Takato while he was holding back two of the 'Cable' D-Reapers claws. The strain in his voice was evident, but so was the confidence he had in both himself and Takato.

"**Thanks Ryo,"** Takato replied, nodding Gallantmons head before turning to charge the 'Emperor' D-Reaper.

* * *

"_Their time?"_

* * *

"Takato?"

Looking for the source of the voice, Takato was surprised to see that it was Jeri.

"Huh? Jeri, uh hi Jeri," Takato smiled nervously.

"Where have you been?"

"Oh, nowhere. You know, just around. So uh, see ya," Takato turned and was about to leave when she called out again.

"Do you need help?" He couldn't help but notice the almost hopeful tone of her voice and instantly felt even worse for trying to evade her.

"No that's okay, well um...I don't know really..." He said backpedaling away from her before getting an idea.

"_I can't believe I'm gonna say this."_

"Would you help me Jeri?"

"Oh..." her response was somewhere between surprised and confused, he guessed it to be from his suddenly switching up on her.

* * *

"_Their material possessions?"_

* * *

"I've got a couple too!"Kenta shouted holding out the modifier cards he had been carrying with him towards Takato, Rika, and Henry.

* * *

"_Their faith?"_

* * *

"Duh! Takato, I'm such a dork," Kazu face palmed.

"What?"

"Why didn't I think of this before? Use my blue card on Growlmon!" Kazu flashed out his homemade blue card with a triumphant smirk.

* * *

"_Or even their lives?"_

* * *

"Do you want to fly, Gallantmon?"

"**Wh-who are you?"** Gallantmon asked, looking around for the source of the mysterious voice.

"Do you want to fly? I will give you my wings," the mysterious voice again offered.

"Wings? I could fly?" Guilmon asked in wonder.

"**Grani!"** Gallantmon shouted, both in surprise and in fear. He was happy to see his friend return, but could see that he was slowly being deleted by the D-Reapers Chaos.

"I can no longer move on my own, but I can give you the strength that remains in me. You can have my wings, Gallantmon," Grani offered one final time.

"Grani, you really are a digimon. Aren't you?" Takato asked, feeling torn at the thought of losing not just a comrade, but a friend, a friend that had saved him and the others live on several occasions.

"**Grani, are you sure?"** Gallantmon asked, not wanting his friend to sacrifice himself.

"I'm very sure, you are my friends, you talked to me. This is my gift to you," Grani said before bursting into a cloud of data and flooding Gallantmon with his power.

* * *

"_Your friends have always been there for you in the past, they have trusted you with everything, they have offered and given you everything for no other reason than you being their friend. Rika has stood by you through everything, and has she ever once asked you for anything in return, even just once?"_

"_I…"_

"_After everything that your friends have done for you, after everything they have given you out of friendship, is it really too much to ask of you to do this for her? Is it too much to ask that you stop running away after three years!?"_ Henry demanded.

Biting his lip, he opened his eyes, noticing that the storm had stopped and that everything was now silent. He was even able to make out the skyline though the gap in the tree's he had cut during his battle with the Stingmon a short while ago.

What he saw was the light purplish hue of night's final moments, the fading silver light from the moons radiance.

"_If I…if I can…"_

Taking a deep breath, Takato looked down at Rika's face with a frown, though it was more or less directed at himself than her.

"I…Rika…" Tightening his hold on her, Takato was able to feel her warmth, he could feel the swirling torrent of power she both was and held back.

Looking at her face that was now marred with a slight frown, he was reminded of the empty echo she still carried with her, the same echo he felt that day he first saw within her eyes so long ago, and still carried a piece of within himself.

"Just…let me…try to…"

"Mmmm"

Light violet orbs slowly opened before his eyes, weak from tiredness, but still showing a tiny burning ember from deep within.

"Ta…ka…to?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Takato gave a weak lopsided grin.

"Morning sleepyhead."

* * *

End chapter 6

AN: *Whew* As you can see, there is a reason this chapter took so bloody long to get out lol. I do hope that its length and content make up for it being delayed. This is a *very* important chapter, and I wanted it to be as good as I could make it, though I'm not really happy with it for some reason... I know my editing skills leave a lot to be desired, but I hope that this wasn't too bad. You might have noticed that this chapter didn't have a 'defined' promise at the top. The reason for that was explained in the previous chapter but here it is again.

I wanted to leave it up to you readers to decide for yourselves not only what the promise was, but what _kind_ of promise it was.

Also, as always I beg of you to give me time to respond to your reviews. It's been rough lately, and I know I still have unanswered reviews from Endless Waltz, but I WILL answer them, I just need some free time to get my act together. Please tell me what you think of this chapter though, I still accept anon reviews, and as I said before, I depend on you guys to let me know what you like and what you didn't like, where I need to improve and what I did right. I thank you for taking the time to read this, and hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Be on the look out for the next chapter soon!

Chapter Seven: Promise: To the Rising Sun

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	7. Promise: To The Rising Sun

Promise: To The Rising Sun

AN: Ok, yet again here I am with a very late chapter update. My excuse this time? It's actually a bit more complicated than usually. If it was just being busy or being sick, it wouldn't take this long, same with writers block…I'm not going into details, but up until now everything has been fairly easy to write for a very simple reason and that is no longer the case. Rest assured that nothing is wrong and nothing has happened in recent history to cause this, I simply have to work harder and use more imagination from here on out than the previous chapters in dealing with the TakatoxRika dynamic. Now, Rika is going to seem a little OOC at the beginning of this chapter but that's mostly because of the fact that its morning and people aren't always the same in the morning as they are during the day. I hope you'll forgive me for taking so long, and that I even have readers anymore…

Oh, and enjoy the chapter, I hope the 'surprise' makes it worth waiting for. This chapter has several flashbacks, but they are necessary for everything to work out…you'll see what I mean.

*grins*

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

* * *

"_I…where…am…I?"_

Something was off. She didn't know what exactly, but she could tell that something wasn't right, or to be more precise that something was different. Normally when she woke up she always felt a little cold and somewhat anxious. She guessed that this was because it took her brain a minute or two to remember where she was and that everything was ok first thing in the morning. But right now that wasn't the case.

She actually felt relaxed, safe even, the way she used to when she was very little and would wake up in her mother or grandmother's arms on a cold winter morning or after waking up from a terrible nightmare. To put simply, she felt at ease.

Something else she noticed was that she was comfortable, very comfortable in fact. Sure, her mother had bought the best futon money could buy for her but it had never really been 'comfy' in her mind, it was almost like it was missing something. Right now her brain might have been groggy and still fighting off the last vestiges of sleep, but she could tell what position she was in, and to her confusion recognized that she was sitting up in a chair, not lying down on a bed.

"_I didn't know we had any chairs this nice…I like this chair,"_ Rika thought as she nuzzled herself into the chair making herself more comfortable. As she did this and her brain steadily regained function she became aware of two additional details she hadn't noticed before.

First, the chair had a very strong scent, one that was vaguely familiar to her and even pleasant. But she couldn't for the life of her place exactly where she knew it from. Taking a deeper breath she let the aroma fill her lungs and mind with a warming and comfortable 'haze'.

This however led to the discovery of the second detail, the one that started setting off alarm bells.

Not only was the chair warm, but it was _radiating_ warmth.

"_Warm…since when did chairs ever-"_ Before the thought could finish she felt herself being moved _away_ from the heat source. This both puzzled and annoyed her since it also put her into an uncomfortable position, one that was bending her neck at an awkward angle away from the 'heat' her still tired mind was being drawn towards instinctually.

Her curiosity now piqued and her now semi working brain demanded that she awaken to investigate this anomaly, so with a mighty effort she managed to force open her heavy eyelids and blinked trying to adjust to the sudden change in light levels.

The sight that filled her vision was a mop of dark brown hair, and a pair of wine red eyes.

"_Red eyes…brown hair? But that would mean…"_

"Morning sleepyhead," Takato said with a small lopsided grin, one she instantly recognized to mean 'things are really bad but I'm doing my best here…please don't hurt me'.

"_Why is he…the only time he ever gives me that look is when he's done something really…"_

Now that her brain was fully functional and could actually process sensory information, several additional 'facts' quickly became apparent and raised her minds warning level from 'Impmon found a new joke shop' to 'Kazu has fireworks and a lighter' levels.

First was Takato being much closer than he normally would dare be while she was sleeping, a rather obvious difference from the norm. During the few occasions she had fallen asleep or dozed off when he was around he would just shake her by the shoulder till she woke up. Right now it almost looked like her was looming over her. Immediately after this she became aware that the warm and comfortable 'chair' she was sitting in was moving under her.

These when combined with the worried smile on Takato's face led her only a single logical solution, one that made her vision fuzzy and head feel like the room was spinning under her.

"Rika, are you alright?"

Recognizing the voice of her partner and 'sister', Rika turned her head to the left, and she came face to face with 'it'.

Takato's shoulder.

Moving her eyes downward she followed the arm attached to his other shoulder and saw that it ran underneath her coat, more specifically, under her knees. A quick test via shifting her legs confirmed that this arm was holding her by the knees and was in fact part of the 'warm chair' under her.

With a single beat of her heart, the snow fair white skin of Rika's face quickly turned to a shade matching her hair, and then turned even darker.

Despite her usual tough as nails tomboy persona, she was still a teenage girl. This meant that she was just as susceptible to the effects of the ever dreaded hormones as anyone else her age was. Throw in her lack of experience when dealing with emotions along with her having just woken up, and you would find yourself exactly where she was at this moment.

A prisoner within her own body and at the mercy of her imagination.

The strong and comforting scent from before she now recognized to be fresh bread baking, or as Renamon called it, 'Essence of Matsuki'. Following this was the feeling of his torso against the entire left side of her body, his arms which held her close to him underneath her coat providing both warmth and a show of protection. She knew that he was pretty strong, but she had never actually _felt_ his muscles before. After all it wasn't like he went around flexing them and it didn't take use of ones biceps to hug a friend.

That line of thinking however only made her turn an even deeper shade of red.

Perhaps the most alarming thing in her mind however was the steady rise and fall of his chest against her side as he breathed. This when combined with him essentially holding her bridal style with the strong grip he had on her shoulder with one arm, and his other arm holding her under her legs was making her _very_ nervous.

Now, Rika was a smart girl, and a very brave one at that. But there were some lines that she just wasn't prepared to deal with or handle, especially since she hadn't even been awake for a full minute yet.

"Ta…ka…to…" she growled between clenched teeth as she struggled to maintain some semblance of mental and physical control. In the back of her mind she counted herself lucky that it was so rare for her to ever get embarrassed and that so few people had ever seen it happen that she could pass it off as her simply being angry.

"_First everything on our da- everything that could go wrong yesterday did, then he had the nerve to order me around fighting the Stingmon, and now he thinks he can-"_ Realizing where her thoughts were heading and just who they were concerning, she stopped.

Taking a very _very_ deep breath the redhead bawled her hands into fists, digging the nails deep enough into her palms that she could feel them pricking through the skin.

"_Ok Rika, calm down. This is Takato we're talking about, Takato. He wouldn't do that sort of thing. He might be an idiot, but he's as far from a pervert as you can get and still be male. Something must have happened,"_ she thought to herself before once again remembering where she was.

"Takato…put…me…down…n o w!"

There would be plenty of time to reflect on all this later, but right now there were more important things to deal with in her mind.

The boys red eyes widened and his face turned an even darker shade of red than hers. This was quickly followed by a series of sputters and half pleas to let him explain before she killed him.

"_Great, I embarrassed him and he's gone back to babble mode. That's supposed to be MY right not his! I'm the girl here! I've probably got two seconds before he drops me like a hot potato-"_

Much to her surprise and partially to her delight (the day wasn't starting off too well), he didn't drop her, but instead he slid her off of his lap and helped push her up with the arm that had been wrapped around her shoulder. A small part of her was impressed that he was able to pull off the maneuver so fluidly, but for the most part she just wanted to put as much space between her and the boy as she could in as little time as possible.

Pushing his arm off, she backed away from him holding up her hands to stop him from babbling any further.

"Look…just…save it alright! I don't care what happened, I don't want to know what happened, just leave me alone."

Taking one step forward, her breath hitched when she felt a biting pain shoot through her feet and up into her legs. It was far from the worst pain she had ever felt, but it was still pretty bad, border lining a charley horse. This was soon followed by the familiar sting of cold floor on her nearly bare feet.

"What the-" she yelped before falling back and wincing in expectation of hitting the wall or floor, for the dull pain one knew instinctively came when they tried to do battle with one of man's oldest enemies, gravity.

"Whoa Rika!"

But it never came, instead she once again found herself caught and supported by her friend's strong arms.

"You might want to take it a little easy…and put on your shoes…" Takato warned her as she shrugged off his arm for the second time that morning, with noticeably more force that the last.

"Shoes? What do you mean-" Looking down, she noticed that her feet were indeed only covered by socks, not her standard plated shoes.

"Why are my-"

"I had to get them off of you last night, mine too," Takato said pointing down at his feet and wiggling his bare toes before continuing. "Grandpa always said that cold feet that get wet are-"

Pulling together what was left of her dying pride and practically nonexistent dignity, she snatched her shoes from where she spotted them on the ground and quickly slipped into them before turning and making her way for the hideouts 'door' while in the same motion returned her coat to its normal state of 'on' her and not 'around' her.

She didn't hate Takato, she honestly doubted that she would ever be able to regardless of what he did. But right now she needed time to cool off and compose herself. If she didn't it was very likely that yesterday's eruption would be repeated, and she really didn't want to go through that again.

So imagine her surprise when something very strong clamped down on her forearm and stopped her dead in her tracks.

Her sense's still on high alert, Rika pulled back her free arm and pivoted on her heel throwing her fist at whatever had grabbed her purely out of reflex.

"Rik-"

_Smack_

Dark violet eyes widened while pale blue eyes narrowed.

To say that Rika and Takato never had arguments would be a lie. To say they never fought would also be a lie. However, in all the time they had known each other, she had never once outright slugged him, not even on the rare occasion that he managed to surprise her. She had always been able to tell when it was him, like some sort of sixth sense that had started up after they rescued Guilmon from the storm drain.

This time was different in two very important ways.

First was the fact that she had thrown a punch directly at Takato's face, something she had never done before. The second, and in her mind more important difference was the exact location of where her fist had struck.

She had thrown it straight, her aim had been true, and the target was Takato's bottom jaw.

What it hit however, was the open palm of his right hand.

"_He…he…caught it?"_

Over the course of the last four years, she had sparred with Takato only a few times. He claimed that it was because he already knew that she would kick his butt, but she had always suspected that something else might be at play as well since he never turned down a match with one of the guys. Still, during those few short mock fights, he had always blocked or dodged her strikes, never once had he caught one.

"_Wow, I guess all those years of working in a bakery-"_ Shaking her head to banish the thought, she calmly retracted her hand from his grip. It seemed that he only used enough force to actually stop her and wasn't trying to restrain her. Still, the catch had been solid enough that she felt a dull throb in her knuckles from the impact.

Again shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rika tried to move away but found she was still being held in place by the forearm.

"Takato, you had better have a good reason for grabbing me like that," she growled. Her mind was a flurry of emotions, something she didn't like to begin with. Having just woken up also meant her mind was still somewhat groggy. All in all, she didn't like what was happening one bit.

The boy's head lowered, hiding his normally bright eyes behind his hair. She couldn't see most of his face, but she could tell that it was contorting through various expressions judging by the twitches of his cheeks and jaw line.

"Well? Come on! Spit it out already!"

"_What is going on here? He's never acted like this before."_

There was a part of her that was worried about her friend. He was acting very strange, and if how she felt was any indication she knew that he was still hurting from yesterday. But as before, the larger part of her was confused and annoyed by everything that was going on in such a small timeframe, and with her that was a bad combination.

After a few moments passed and he still hadn't done anything, she had had enough.

"Fine, if you won't let go of me, I'll make you."

Looking over her shoulder, Rika motioned her head towards Takato.

"Renamon, get him off of me, now."

With a tired sigh, the yellow fox made her way over to the two humans and reached for the boy's hand. She wasn't sure what her reason for doing so was, but Rika could tell that her partner was stalling for something. Renamon was Renamon, and she never moved this slow, even when tired.

"Guilmon stop her!" Takato suddenly ordered.

Lashing forward like a cobra, the red raptor's tail wrapped around Renamon's outstretched arm holding it in place mere inches from Takato's wrist.

"_What the-"_ Following the red tail wrapped around her partners arm, Rika's eyes locked with Guilmon's glowing yellow orbs. She hadn't even seen him before, but she vaguely remembered hearing calm steady snoring from somewhere close by. Though she was still tired and waking up, this apparently was not the case with her friend's partner as his ears were folded down and back almost like he was ready to pounce.

What really caught her attention however were his eyes.

"_He's viral? No, that can't be right, that only happens when he's fighting something as strong as he is…or when Takato gets hurt."_

The normally happy-go-lucky childish digimon was sitting perfectly still, not even blinking as he stared back at Rika. For a brief second she could have sworn that she saw a flicker of red pass through his black slitted pupils, but it was gone when she blinked.

"Rika…please…don't…don't go," Takato asked softly. His voice was hoarse and carried an almost wounded undertone, but that only served to remind her of everything that had happened leading up to where they were now.

Feeling her temper rising once more she tried to keep herself calm but that was becoming increasingly difficult.

"Takato, let go NOW! Haven't you done enough damage already?!"

"Please…Rika…just…just give me…we need to talk."

"_He sounds…no, I can't deal with this, not so soon after-"_ Cutting the thought off before it could continue, she readied her 'defenses'.

"Look, I need time to cool off. If you don't bug off and leave me alone-"

"If you take time to cool off you'll go back to the way you used to be, the same way you always do when you get upset, and I'm not going to let that happen again," he replied with a sigh as he released her forearm.

The shock on her face was plain as day.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she hissed. She could feel that all too familiar hole opening up in the pit of her stomach, but she no longer had the anger to hold it back. Adding to this her pride had once again switched sides on her and was doing all it could to goad her into another explosion directed at her hapless.

"Yes you do, I'm not stupid Rika-"

"That remains to be seen," she muttered. In the back of her mind, she could almost feel her pride smirking as she watched him wince.

"Ok, I deserved that, but please just hear me out. I know I've messed up, but I'm trying to fix it. Can't you give me-"

"_Oh no, no way is he going to pull that on me, not after what he did yesterday."_

"I _gave_ you a chance already, unless you've forgotten," she replied forcing as much venom into her voice as she could muster. Her fear and pride were working in tandem against her and were gaining ground much faster than her still foggy mind could counter. If she wanted to keep things civil she had to end this now.

"Please, I'm-"

"Give me _one_ good reason why I should," she spat before internally sighing a breath of relief. _"That should give me a little time to-"_

"Because you're a better person than me," he replied still looking down at his feet as he kicked the concrete floor dejectedly.

His voice had been so soft that she almost hadn't heard him, but she had, and for some reason his reply made _her_ flinch.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked with a half snort, hoping that she didn't sound too curious about his comment.

When he looked up and his eyes finally met hers she nearly choked.

"_His eyes, what on earth did this to him?"_

She might not have been a very open person, but she could read her friends like an open book, and right now something was telling her that she wasn't going to like this chapter one bit.

"I…Rika, I promise, just…I'll do whatever you ask or want, just please, don't leave." His tone was weighty, but it wasn't even close to begging which pleased her somewhat. At least he had remembered her disdain towards that.

Sighing, she gave in. Takato was her friend, and while he did screw up from time to time he rarely if every asked her for anything.

"Fine one chance, but this had better be good," she replied crossing her arms.

"_Stupid guilt,"_ she thought silently before looking back to their deadlocked partners still frozen where they stood. Renamon and Guilmon seemed to be having a staring contest, but something was off about it. Guilmon's normally friendly face now resembled a serpent waiting to strike its prey while her own partner had an almost pensive look to her, like she was trying to see something that wasn't there.

"Takato…"

When the boy looked back at her, she motioned her head towards the two partners before clearing her throat.

"Oh yeah, uh, sorry about that," Takato chuckled nervously before turning his attention to the red raptor.

"Hey Guilmon, you can let go now."

The small dino blinked and his eyes returned to normal along with his usual personality and demeanor.

"Huh? Takatomon, is it time for breakfast yet?" Yawning, he turned to look back at Rika for a moment before turning his attention fully back to his partner.

"Almost boy, sorry but it'll be in a little bit. I'll get dad to make some of his special ramen when we get back though alright?"

Rika watched as Guilmon's ears flapped open and his tail started swishing happily.

"But I need you to wait outside for a minute ok? I need to talk to Rika in private."

The effect was immediate.

"Awe but Takatomon, I'm hungry now," he whined.

"_How doe he do that?"_ Rika wondered as she watched the exchange between tamer and partner. She knew Guilmon was different from most digimon, but she had never really paid it much mind before. The way he would swing from being serious to playful on the fly was still a mystery to her, and something that had bugged her for some time.

"Guilmon, would you like to play a game of tag?"

Both Rika and Takato's heads turned so fast they gave themselves whiplash.

"Renamon? Are you sure that-"

"Yay! Renamon wants to play tag! You're it!" Guilmon shouted happily before running out of the hideout at speeds he normally reserved for getting to the kitchen before his tamer.

The yellow fox simply walked out after him, not making eye contact with either her partner or the slack jawed boy across from her. She carried herself with her usual pride dignity and grace, but it had a certain noticeable…drag to it, as one might expect from a convict on death row.

* * *

Rika watched as her friend shrugged then sat back down on the makeshift 'bed' (which she had yet to figure out where it had come from) and put his own shoes back on. She noticed that his socks were missing as he shoved them on, but it didn't rate as high or as important in her eyes as whatever it was Takato had on his mind so she ignored it until he patted the spot beside him. Raising an eyebrow at his actions, she leaned against the concrete wall trying her best to remain civil.

"Alright Gogglehead, here I am, what did you want to talk about?" She asked trying to get a feel for where things were going to be heading this time.

"You might want to sit down," he replied calmly as looked off to the side.

"_Oooook that's weird. He goes from looking at me to avoiding me. What does he have going through his head that's making him act like this?"_ she wondered. Takato might not be 'normal' for a teenage boy, but what she had seen so far this morning was completely different from his usual behavior. He was acting nervous, something he normally only did around her when she was angry; and he wouldn't look her in the eye, something that before today she didn't think was possible for him. Chalking it up to fatigue and 'morning-ness' she dropped the matter for another time.

Sitting a few feet across from him, she tucked her legs under her and rested her arms in her lap.

"Rika, I don't…I don't know how long I'm going to be able to do this, so I'm going to get straight to the point while I can."

Alarms and warning lights that had just gone silent were now back full blast.

Taking a deep breath, two words passed from between his lips. The last two words she would have ever expected to hear from him.

"Why me?"

For a long moment nothing happened. The question, while simple forced the young girl's brain into overdrive trying to decipher its exact meaning.

A few seconds later as she was coming back to her senses, she saw that her friend was once again looking her directly in the eyes, the way he always had since first meeting him.

"_Did he…"_

Swallowing, she took a deep breath of her own.

"What do you mean, 'why me'? Why me what?" She prodded carefully. There were many possibilities behind his question but she was not going to jump to conclusions, not after what happened last time she had. Like any human she made mistakes from time to time, but she nevermade the same mistake _twice. _She wasn't about to go out on a limb without having some sort of idea of how strong it was and how far off the ground she would be doing so a second time.

"Rika…why did you pick me to…why do you…like _me_?" He asked squirming nervously.

She noted the cherry red color his face turned as he asked it and had to force down her own reaction since he had just affirmed what she had thought the question was regarding.

"_This isn't good. I'm not ready for this again, not so soon. I need to throw him off my trail,"_ she thought as she felt the bad taste in her mouth that came with trying to deceive her friend.

"What are you talking about? You're my friend Gogglehead, of course I-"

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," he replied cutting off her 'escape attempt' before it could even start. Closing his eyes, he took another deep breath and swallowed to try and keep his throat from drying out.

"Rika, why did you think that yesterday was a date? Why did you _want _yesterday to be a date? I might be a little slow, but I'm not completely stupid. The only reason you would have thought that yesterday was a date would be if you wanted it to be one. So now I'm asking you, why on earth would you want to date me? Why would you settle for-"

"_Settle?!"_

"Wait a minute, hold on, back up. What do you mean _settle_?" Rika asked as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You're kidding…right?" He asked honestly.

At seeing his reaction to her response, a single thought shot though her mind like an arrow through a piece of paper.

"_He's actually surprised?"_

Unlike herself Takato wore his heart on his sleeve, and right now his expression was one of genuine shock and utter confusion.

"Rika, you're the daughter of a professional model and one of the top two digimon card players on earth. You're rich, famous, and beautiful! Why out of all the guys in Japan would you want to date a street rat from downtown Shinjuku?"

Furrowing her brows as she listened Rika frowned. Yeah, she had heard him call her beautiful, and that memory was safely locked away in a corner of her mind for later, but right now there were more important things to address.

"You really think I care about that kind of stuff? We've been friends for years; you should know me better than that by now. Why do you think I've beaten back every boy mom's tried to set me up with? I don't care about how much money someone has, or haven't you noticed who my friends are?" Rika countered. Something was going on, something that was far deeper than it appeared to be and she intended to find out exactly what it was.

"I know that, but…there's a difference between a friend friend and a _boyfriend_."

Pinching the bridge of her nose Rika groaned. How it was that after all this time the person she called her closest and best friend could not notice something like this was beyond her. The rational part of her mind was struggling to sort out the mixed signals it was receiving while her suspicious side played havoc with her thinking process. He had openly acknowledged knowing she had feelings for him but had yet to comment on them, in fact he seemed to be ignoring it.

"Well at least you managed to figure it out," she muttered as she shifted to prevent her legs from falling asleep.

"Kinda hard not to, I mean you made it pretty clear the other day," Takato replied shifting his eyes away from her before continuing. "But I still don't get why. Why would you want to date me?" He asked weakly.

Taking a deep breath, Rika reached out one last time for the red thread in her mind. She hadn't meant to do so purposely, but it had almost become a reflex for this type of situation since she had discovered it.

"Takato…you are my friend, my best friend…you know that right?" She asked making sure he knew where they stood currently before going any deeper.

Seeing him nod, she continued.

"Well, what you probably don't know is that you were also my…first friend, and the first person to ever treat me like I was normal."

"Huh?"

Seeing his confused expression, Rika sighed and shook her head. This was going to be painful and she knew it, but if it put this whole mess to rest once and for all it would be worth it. Better to take one bad hit you knew you could walk away from than let yourself get pelted for a lifetime she reasoned.

"Takato, is there anything about me that you notice as being…well…different? Anything obvious?"

Blinking he quickly looked her over causing a small blush to stain her cheeks.

"Not aside from you being a tomboy, no not really," he replied, half confused by her question.

"That's…one of the reasons why I-" she started to reply before looking away from him and taking a deep breath to banish the slight coloration of her cheeks.

"You know that I'm…not entirely Japanese right?"

Again she watched as her friend's face switched from confusion to one of being completely lost.

"Uh, yeah, you're hair makes it sort of obvious, so what?"

"_Even if he doesn't realize it…"_ Feeling a smile tug on her lips, Rika felt something warm wash over her but beat it back for now.

"When you're…high class, blood is everything…and when you're not…pure…people tend to treat you a lot differently than if you were. It's not as much of a deal with most people anymore, but when you start dealing with snobs it is," she started dryly.

"What do you mean?"

Swallowing, Rika let out a deep breath, nearly shuddering as old memories fluttered across her field of vision.

"Takato, when I was really little…when I first started going to school…I wasn't…accepted by my classmates. You remember how I used to go to a private all girls' school? Well, it was one of the most expensive ones in Japan actually, only _high_ _class_ kids could get in." Taking a moment to gather herself, she continued. "Each and every one of them was exactly the same, a bunch of ditzy, snobbish, stuck up, prissy daddies girls. It was like they were all stamped out with the same cookie cutter, and if you were _different_ in _any_ way, they made sure you knew it and felt it," she finished bitterly.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that they were mean to you because your hair is red? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of! Why would anyone even care about something like that? It's not like you can control who your parents are!" Though he was mostly confused, there was an undeniable edge of anger in his voice.

"They care because it's part of their culture, _our_ culture. To them, if you're not one hundred percent pure Japanese you're nothing, and that's what the girls I went to school with treated me like I was, nothing."

Hearing several pops, Rika was surprised to see Takato's fist clenching in anger.

"It's not like they did anything overtly cruel or tried to attack me, not even they were _that_ stupid," she started, not wanting him to sic Growlmon on her old classmates and him get into trouble. "They avoided me, ignored me, and I ate lunch by myself every day, but that's about it, it wasn't like they tried to beat me up or threw stuff at me."

"And you let them? Why didn't you-"

"Do what? I was only four back then; I didn't even understand why they were treating me like that until I was like eight or nine," she answered the question before he could finish it. This was one conversation she wanted to get over with as quickly as possible.

"But what about when you started playing Digimon? Didn't anyone try being friends with you then?" Takato asked still not quite getting it.

His question made her flush slightly, though this time it was from embarrassment at herself.

"Well, there were a few who tried…but by then the problem was…well, me. I didn't start playing until I was seven, three years after I had started school and two years after my dad had left. By then I had already turned into what you met four years ago," Rika admitted sadly. She felt something like a cold 'cloak' trying to wrap around her but was able to shrug it off when she reminded herself that it was just what she had said it was, the way she _used to be_, not the way she was _now_.

"So because you didn't want anyone to hurt you, you shut everyone out?" Takato asked bluntly.

"That's about it…"

"So why did you let me? What made me different?"

Snorting, it took everything she had not to laugh.

"Let? Takato, you wouldn't leave me alone! You were the one who kept calling me and following me around. I didn't let you become my friend, you forced your way in," she replied flatly.

"Oh…sorry about th-"

"Don't apologize because I'm not, and neither should you be," she quickly cut him off as some of her conversation with Riley floated across her mind.

* * *

"You don't want things to go back to the way they _were_; you want them to get _better_. Sometimes that means a little tough love. If he really is your friend, if he really does care for you, he'll think about what you told him, and he'll learn from it. You just have to make sure that you can help him along the way," Riley warned.

* * *

"Weren't you listening to what I just said? You were my first friend, and if it hadn't been for you…I would still be the way I was when we first met, Renamon still wouldn't have digivolved and…" She stopped that train of thought before it could even leave the station. Remembering all the times Renamon had saved her and her friends by digivolving over the years and all the times Takato had saved her just during the first few weeks of him being a Tamer was not a pleasant subject for her.

"Point is, it took someone as stubborn and as dense as you to force me open because I was _not_ going to open up on my own. Most people were afraid of me, or they gave up after the first few tries. But you didn't, you just kept coming back and you never gave up on me, even after I threatened Guilmon's life multiple times," Rika finished with a weak smile.

"Oh…so…you…like me because…I was your first friend…and because I'm stubborn?" Takato guessed with a grimace.

Sighing, Rika's head slumped and her smile disappeared completely.

"_Why is he so intent on knowing why I-"_

Thinking back to how this conversation had gotten started in the first place Rika's eyes widened in realization.

"Takato…please be honest with me ok? It's very important," she asked as she felt her insides start twisting into a knot.

"Sure…uh, what is it?"

Biting her lip, she asked the question that had bugged her for ages, the one thing regarding her friend she had suspected since the very beginning but never had any proof of until just now.

"Takato…did you ever like me…as more than just a friend?"

Seeing his face turn fire engine red made her feel like a thunderbolt had struck her. Something in her mind clicked while something else shattered.

"I…err…I'll answer that if you promise not to freak out ok?" He replied scratching the back of his head looking away from her.

"_Geez why do I even need you to answer now? You just admitted it you idiot!"_ A whole new surge of anger was now forcing its way through her veins. If Takato had indeed seen her as something more than just a friend, but had chosen Jeri it meant that she had lost this fight four years ago and that the fault was not with him, but with her because of her past and her inability to open up back then.

"I…yeah…I mean, yes. The answer is yes, I do-I mean I did, but I…"

Blinking, she looked up in confusion at his slip up.

"_Do? But then why did-"_

The boy screwed his eyes shut and averted his gaze from her own, but in that one brief moment she had been able to see his face; she had seen only two things, two things that burned like signal fires in her mind because she saw them every time she looked in a mirror.

Shame and regret.

"Rika, I've always…kinda…sorta…_like_ liked you…but…I went more towards Jeri…because I was afraid of losing you."

"_Because he was afraid of losing me? But that would mean that I was his first pick, not Jeri!"_ Her brain overloaded when it tried to process this equation and switched to 'default' settings, meaning 'go with her gut'.

"Why would you lose me if you…you're not making any sense, how would you have lost me?! Stop making up excuses and answer the stupid question!" She had him now and both of them knew it. There was a method to his madness and his slip up had given her a hold on it. She didn't know what it was exactly, but she knew that her hand was on it. It was something very small and very specific, something that involved both of them. She was pretty sure that she had figured out her part, all that was left now was figuring out Takato's.

Feeling her control slipping away, Rika's pride drop kicked her fear into submission now that it no longer needed its help. Now fueled by anger, her pride was taking over completely.

"_He's saying that I was the first choice, but he went for Jeri because he was afraid!"_

"I know, you have every right to be angry with me, and I'm really _really_ sorry, but it's the truth! Back when we first became friends, I sort of…well…had a crush on both you and Jeri…but I picked Jeri because I thought if I told you that I…well, liked you, that you'd get mad and then you'd either stop being friends with me completely, or you'd start treating me like Kazu," Takato admitted weakly.

"Takato…you had better explain it better than that because if you don't I'm leaving right now, and it will be a _long_ time before you ever see my face again," she growled. The boy was going around in circles and not making any sense. It was just the same thing over and over. He was skipping something, there was something he was trying very hard to keep hidden, something he was avoiding and she knew it. If he wasn't going to admit it though she was going to have to drag it out of him. And as Riley had said, that very well might require a little 'tough love'.

Seeing him cringe at her tone, she got ready to push herself up and make out that she was leaving when he finally looked back up and locked his eyes with hers once more, forcing a wall of raw emotion at her, making sure she not only heard what he said, but _felt_ it as well.

"Rika, back when we first met, Kazu and Kenta were the only friends I had. I've known them since we started going to school together in the first grade and they were always there, we always hung out and we always did stuff together. Right before I met you I met Henry, and yes he is one of my best friends _now_ but back then he was just an acquaintance, we had only known each other for a day or two. Now I know that I didn't have it anywhere near as bad as you did back then, but it still hurt to only have _two_ friends, to only have _two_ people besides my parents that would ever do anything with me or even want to. I was the oddball Rika, sure no one was ever really mean to me and I was never ostracized but I know I got on peoples nerves with my nonstop babbling and that's why no one wanted anything to do with me."

Raising an eyebrow she waited for him to continue. So far there was nothing new he had told her, all this was already known to her and had been for a number of years. But the raw emotion behind it _was_ new and she knew that it was some sort of clue that went along with the rest of the limited information she had gathered so far, but she was still missing another piece or two that prevented her from 'seeing' the complete picture or even enough to figure out what it was she was looking at.

"So then after eight years of only having two people who had the same interests as me, after eight years of only having the same two people to talk to and hang out with you appear out of thin air. A girl who's not only interested in digimon, but who actually _has_ a digimon. You were just so…different than anyone else I knew back then, and you still are now! You know how I am, you know how Kazu and Kenta are, and you know how the other kids at school are, they're nothing like you…"

"So what _you're_ saying, is that I was different," she stated nonplussed.

"Different, unique, cool, whatever you want to call it. I don't know how to explain it but you were just so different than anyone else I had ever met, you were so…it was like you came from another world! There was…there _is_ something about you that draws me, and I don't know what it is, but it's always been there, ever since the first time we met. Whenever you're around, I feel…I don't know, stronger, it's like you have this aura that makes anything possible when you're around…and I'll admit that…I got addicted to it back then…I'm still sort of now actually."

Though she was aware of the pink stain on her cheeks, it was nothing compared to her friends now crimson complexion.

"You still haven't explained why," she reminded him. She needed to keep him on topic here while she still could. Both of them were running on time limits and she didn't know how much more either of them could take.

Breaking eye contact Takato looked off to the side before continuing.

"I didn't know and still don't know what it is, but back then I couldn't get enough of it. That's why I always called you after I got a hold of your number when there was a Wild One…and I was afraid of what would happen if you decided to stop hanging around me…so I…tried to make sure things always stayed the same…so you wouldn't," he admitted.

Again, her conversation with Riley the other day came to mind, and several more pieces clicked into place.

* * *

"He was always…he had a matureness to him…even back then for his age…but…he stopped growing up. After we took down the D-Reaper, it was like something locked up in his head or something just didn't click. He was mature for a twelve year old, but he hasn't gone any further since then," Rika explained.

"So…what you're saying is…that…he acted like he was older back then, but he still acts the same way now as he did back then?"

Rika nodded.

"He still looks at taming, and still thinks of digimon as an extension of the TV show. He still thinks that there are always clearly defined good guys and bad guys, that there is nothing between. In his mind…the good guys always win and the bad guys always get beaten. He can't see past that, or he won't see past that," Rika added.

Taking another deep breath, Rika shook her head and sighed.

"I can't believe I just threw it all away…I screwed up. I had everything…I had him as a friend, and I should've just been happy with that…but…then I had to go and get greedy…" Rika muttered to herself.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Riley offered.

"Nothing risked, nothing lost," Rika countered bitterly.

* * *

"_Change…he's afraid of change, that's it! The reason he kept acting the same all these years was because he was afraid that things would change! He wasn't sure how to make things better, so he wasn't going to risk doing something that might make things worse! In his mind, if he stayed the same then everything else would stay the same too!"_

Looking back up at her friend Rika felt her anger wither up and die. All this time she had imagined any number of things that might have been behind her friend's refusal to grow up, but never in a million years would she have guessed it to be something so simple.

"Back then…I was so afraid of losing you that I tried to keep everything as it was when we first met. That's why I didn't want Kazu and Kenta to come with us to the Digital World and become Tamers…it's why I took longer than you to forgive Impmon…and its why…I…picked Jeri. I realized that I wouldn't be able to control the actions of others or what happened in the world around me…that the only thing I could control was myself…I knew that as long as we were friends you would never leave, but I wasn't sure how you would react if you found out about me having a crush on you. You might have been my friend, but you were still so different that I never thought you'd settle for someone like _me_. I thought that you might see me as a good friend, but I never thought you'd see me as potential boyfriend material so I never took the risk," Takato's shoulders sagged and his head lowered as he finished speaking, though it didn't appear to be out of fear but simply because he no longer had the strength to look up at her.

Looking at her friend Rika's mind was once again a flurry of thoughts and a maelstrom of emotion. She was clinging to the red thread like a lifeline, and that's exactly what it was to her right now.

"_He looks so…defeated… like he's lost everything he ever…"_

* * *

"I can't believe I just threw it all away…I screwed up. I had everything…I had him as a friend, and I should've just been happy with that…but…then I had to go and get greedy…" Rika muttered to herself.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Riley offered.

"Nothing risked, nothing lost," Rika countered bitterly.

* * *

Remembering her own reactions to yesterday's events, she couldn't summon a single ounce of anger or venom to hurl at the boy before her. Despite coming from two completely different worlds and having polar opposite personalities, they were actually very similar.

"_I kept my distance all this time because he was with Jeri and I didn't want to lose him as a friend, now I'm finding out that he chose Jeri and kept his distance from me because of the exact same thing…"_

* * *

"I was _hoping_ that he would be the one to help _me_. I'm not good with this sort of thing; it's always been what he was good at. I mean, yeah, sure I can help him with fighting and all, but emotions?" Rika shook her head.

"Then help each other! Come on, you can't be giving up already. I know you're stronger than that, pull yourself together soldier!" Riley ordered.

The younger girl looked at her with something between hopeful and wishful, but it was weak compared to the pain she was obviously still reeling from.

"Listen, I might not be you, but I have known you, both of you for a while now. Nothing like this is going to put an end to your friendship. It might put a strain on it for awhile, and it might make things difficult. But friendships like yours aren't made in a single day, and they aren't broken in one either. Calm yourself down, pull yourself together, and then come up with a plan. I have faith in you."

Looking past the teen at the clock behind her, Riley groaned.

"Rika, I'm very sorry that things turned out the way they did, and I wish that I could do more for you, but I've got to get back up there or Yamaki will be on the warpath. Just promise me that you won't give up on him, please?"

Without meeting her eyes, Rika nodded.

Knowing that was the best she was going to get form the girl, Riley gave her another one armed hug before heading to the elevator with a parting comment.

"People like the two of you only come around once a generation. Remember that."

Then, she was alone with only her thoughts to keep her company.

* * *

"_We ended up hurting each other trying to protect ourselves from losing the other…but Riley was right, everything's already there, I know that I'm never going to abandon him no matter what, and I'm willing to bet that he would never abandon me either… the only thing standing in our way is fear that the other will do the one thing that they have sworn never to do, so why then…"_

* * *

"Rika, why did you think that yesterday was a date? Why did you _want _yesterday to be a date? I might be a little slow, but I'm not completely stupid. The only reason you would have thought that yesterday was a date would be if you wanted it to be one. So now I'm asking you, why on earth would you want to date _me_? Why would you settle for-"

* * *

"_Settle for…he knows that I…but at the same time…"_

_Click_

The last missing piece of the puzzle fell into place, and with it feelings of both pain and understanding.

"_It's not even that he doesn't think I would…it's that he doesn't think he's good enough…"_

Memories locked away in the deepest darkest corner of her mind flickered before her eyes, bringing with them pain, pain she swore never to inflect on another.

* * *

"I really don't know why, but I wish I did. To be mean to someone in any way just because they are different…I hope that when you grow up, you're not like that, that you don't become the same as _them_," Seiko answered sadly as she looked back down at her tea.

The young girl's face still showed anger, but now it also had a flash of determination to it as well. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that she would _never_ let herself become like _them_.

"I promise grandma, I won't be like that," Rika quickly replied, the comments of some of her classmates still _very_ fresh in her memory.

Seiko smiled warmly at her young granddaughter before rising to sit beside her.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, and I hope you keep that promise. It would have made your grandfather very happy to hear."

* * *

There were only three things that Rika really and truly _hated_ with all her heart, mind, body, and soul. Traitors, people who used others, and discrimination of any form. And that was _exactly_ what this was, Takato was discriminating himself because of self perceived inadequacy.

As everything started coming together she saw her friend rising from his position and immediately knew what was happening. His desire of 'flight' had finally overridden his willingness to 'fight'. Time was up, no more thinking or planning could be done; her only option now was to act.

Pushing up off from the ground she positioned herself between her friend and the hideout's exit before he could take a single step.

"Takato, why do you think you're not good enough for me? Isn't that for _me_ to decide, not you or anyone else? You know that I don't care about clout, money, or anything like that," she asked firmly.

"Rika, come on, I told you…it's just…I'm just not ok. My family's living room could fit in your bedroom-"

"I _told_ you, I don't _care_ about money, try again," Rika stated as she pushed the boy back with one hand when he tried to move past her.

"You've gone through enough already, you don't need to do something because you-"

"Feel like I owe it to you? Better, but still not good enough, try again," Rika replied as she once again pushed the boy back as he attempted to move around her. She now had a tight leash on her pride and emotions; one that she hoped wasn't going to break anytime soon.

"Your mom is-"

"My mother, your point? So what if she's a model, what she is and what she does is her business not mine. Try again," Rika again pushed the boy back with one hand. She already knew the answer, she already knew his reason, but unless he was willing to say it himself there was no way she would be able to confront it because he would simply deny it if she brought it up.

"Because you deserve better ok!"

"_There's my opening, I've only got one shot at this."_

"Because I deserve better?" She asked slowly as she raised a single thin eyebrow.

"Yes! You deserve better! Rika, you've been through more in the last fourteen years than most people do in a lifetime! No one should have to go though-"

"So? What's your point? I _deserve_ what I _want_, what a person _wants_ and what a person _deserves_ isn't the same thing Gogglehead," she replied smoothly.

"Rika, you deserve the _best_, you deserve someone who's strong, someone who's smart someone whose not…a coward. You're my best friend Rika, and I'd never be able to forgive myself if I let you-"

"_Wait a minute hold the phone, he thinks that it's up to _him_ to decide what's best for me?!"_

That had been an unexpected development, and unfortunately it proved to be the opening her pride needed to take over.

* * *

"You know, you're right."

"_Huh? What just…why would she agree with me when she-"_ Before he could finish the though, Takato focused on Rika's eyes trying to gauge what was going on here.

What he saw would have made Ryo wet his pants.

He had seen Rika get extremely annoyed before (who hadn't) and he had even seen her get truly angry a few times in the past. But what he saw right now was so far beyond that it was terrifying, beyond even what had happened yesterday. The rage, the wrath, the sheer disgust that was leaking from her eyes was almost palpable. It had gone beyond the constraints of even the most extreme of emotions and had almost taken a physical form of its own.

For the first time he could remember since meeting her, Rika was beyond angry, and she was beyond livid.

She was downright pissed.

"I deserve the best, not just the best, but the _best_ of the best."

Gulping, he could do nothing but watch in abject horror as his friend of four years, the girl he had counted on for so much transformed into something no longer human, a creature of pure malice and hate. Not even Kazu had managed to achieve this level of reaction out of her and he actually tried.

"My father walked out on my family when I was five, _five_! Do you have any idea what its like to be a five year old and have to try and deal with that?! Do you?! Do you have any idea what it's like to grow up without a single friend all because you father happened to come from another country? To be treated like some, some, like an outcast! Like a stray animal because your mom decided that she loved a good for nothing deadbeat that wasn't _Japanese_!?"

"Rika, I-"

"I have had to _fight_, I have had to fight _tooth_, _claw_ and _nail_ for **everything** that I wanted Takato, _**everything**_! I am _sick_ and _tired_ of you acting like a little kid when you should be acting like a teenager! I shouldn't have to fight just to have what everyone else has given to them on a silver platter, if anything; **I** should be the one that has everything handed to _**ME**_ on a silver platter!"

"_Great, now I've done it. Why did I have to open my big mouth? This is what happens when you try to change anything, it blows up in your face…literally,"_ Takato thought with a pained wince. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he would be lucky if he ever saw his friend again after this.

"I deserve someone who isn't a _coward_, someone who doesn't string their friends along for _years_ just because they're too afraid to face the possibility that things might not go the way _they_ planned!"

Each word she spoke was like a stake knife to the heart for the poor boy, driving him closer and closer to the edge of a bottomless pit.

"_Why…can't I…look away? It's like her eyes are holding me in place…"_

What made her words hurt even more than the fact they were coming from his best friend however was that he agreed with each and every one of them with his entire being. Rika had had a rough life and she deserved to be happy. That was the other main reason he had never said anything to her in the past, because he wanted her to have not only the best, but to be happy with it. Two things he couldn't provide for her no matter how much he might want to.

Rika broke eye contact with him and looked away for a moment allowing him the opportunity to lower his head to avoid any further third degree burns from her heated gaze.

"I deserve the best Matsuki, and that's not you."

_That_ made him flinch. Never had anyone called him by his last name, at least not among his friends.

"Yet."

"_Yet? What does th-"_

Confused by her choice of words, he had risked looking up for some kind of clue as to what she was talking about but his vision was blocked by a wall of something he didn't recognize, a wall that was mostly white but had some red along its top and sides. This confused him but didn't really affect him beyond that.

What _did_ stop his thinking process however was that the moment he blinked something hit, no, not hit, something brushed against the lower right corner of his lips, something soft…something that…

"_It almost feels like…it's moving?"_

Something that felt like warm silk moved across the bottom corner of his lips to the left covering half his bottom lip and part of his top lip before it pulled back and allowed his eyes time to adjust and focus on what had been so close only moments ago.

Takato watched as a face now as red as the hair that adorned it moved back several more inches from his and two eyelids slowly opened revealing a pair of warm violet irises. He could have sworn that he saw something dancing in the twin purple pools before him like an electric spark or ethereal flicker, but his view was quickly cut off when their owner looked off to the side before taking a step back.

"Rika…what…why…"

The moment his brain started working again, his right hand went up to his face and touched the place on his lips that he had felt the feathery soft touch brush against. It took him several moments to even figure out what had happened, but when he did, part of his brain broke.

"_Rika…kissed me?"_

* * *

Swallowing, it took every ounce of strength she had not to turn tail and run as she watched him reach up and touch his lips.

In the heat of the moment while her anger and rage at her friend for his continually putting down himself reached its peak something had taken hold of her and almost like a puppet she had been guided without a second thought.

She had kissed him.

She wanted to snap him out of whatever funk his mind was in, she wanted him to stop putting himself down and her up on some unreachable pedestal, and yes she would admit (if only to herself) that it was something she had thought of doing at least once in the past, but she hadn't quite meant to right then and there.

Still, all she could do now was roll with it. If she caved she would be no better than Takato was right now. Riley had been right, alone they both had major character flaws, but together they were able to fill in the others weakness's without even trying.

"_Come on girl, keep it together, you can do this! I gave you the opening now use it!"_ Her pride shouted snapping her back into reality. Not sure what to do or say she stopped thinking and decided to try things Takato's way for once. He had helped her enough now he was going to help himself, though in a roundabout way.

"You need to stop selling yourself so short, you're not all that bad. You're just too focused on what _you_ think is important, and what _you_ think is for the best. I'm a big girl Takato, I can think for myself," she replied trying to keep her tone steady and even.

Several moments of silence passed before the boy was able to pull himself together and reply which gave Rika's pride a healthy boost considering that not only had it had been her first kiss, but that she had been off center (essentially it was a miss) and had to move after 'landing' it.

"Rika…I…but…why? You can do so much-"

Not wanting to go down the same road they just had, Rika placed one finger on his lips cutting him off.

"I've already made up my mind about this, and I'm not going to change it. You've saved the world twice, you've saved my life more times than I can count, and you saved me from myself. If you still don't think you're good enough for me, then think of my gift to you as a down payment, an investment towards making you good enough in your own eyes."

Feeling her cheeks flush, Rika allowed herself a small genuine smile, the kind she only showed to the few people she trusted most before continuing.

"Because you've been good enough in mine for the last four years."

Watching the boys face switch between astonishment and excitement, she waited for the one last hale marry she knew his fear would be sending her way, the same one her fear had thrown at her not too long ago.

"But…Rika, I'm…"

"Worth it, believe me; I know what you're thinking because I thought the exact same thing for years. You can't let that stop you from living…you're actually the one who taught me that," Rika admitted as her smile shifted to a grin.

"As…long as you're sure…I mean, I don't want you to get into trouble or anything, and I don't want-"

"Takato, the only thing that's taking away from me right now is you."

Seeing his head lower she realized her mistake and tried to mend the situation as quickly as possible. She knew that Takato suffered from low self-esteem when it came to certain things, and he was in a 'weakened' state right now so she had to be careful with how she worded her thoughts and how she phrased things at least for a little while.

Swallowing one last time, she reached out and grabbed his hand, then holding it between the two of them with both of her own, she did something she had never done before with anyone other than her grandmother.

"_I…I need to do this, it's the only way he'll know for sure…"_

Closing her eyes, Rika mentally raised one had to her face, taking hold of the porcelain kitsune mask she had worn for so many years, and pushed it up over the top of her head.

Opening her eyes, she made sure to look directly into Takato's so she would know he was looking into hers.

"Takato, do you trust me as much as I trust you?" She asked with more than just a hint of fear in her voice. She had become so used to wearing her 'mask' that it had become 'normal' for her. She didn't like feeling weak and she hated feeling vulnerable. From time to time she would lower parts of her 'mask' around those she was close to and trusted, but no one outside of her grandmother had seen her without some portion of her mask in place for nearly twelve years, not even her own mother.

This was the last and only remaining card she had left to play, and hoped that it would open her friend's eyes.

At first his eyes widened, then he went to speak only to close his mouth, smile sheepishly, and nodded.

Once again closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she mentally reached for her mask and lowered it back into place. Releasing his hands she reopened her eyes and took a few steps back before letting out the breath she had been holding.

"Uh, Rika…just…one question…"

Mentally crying she wondered why out of all the boys in Japan and probably the entire world she had to fall for the one who actually had to be convinced that it was ok to date her.

"Yes Takato?" She asked, half dreading his response.

"Uh…could I…have…err...I mean, would you mind..,if it wouldn't be too much trouble-" He tried to ask while turning bright neon red.

After all these years of friendship she had become quite adapt at translating Takato's babbling, and this was no exception. Feeling her own cheeks flush, she quickly made sure he understood, or rather he remembered a few things about who she was.

"I-I...I…I don't think so…sorry. I'm still kind of new to this, and…you know how hard stuff like that is for me. It's going to take me awhile to get used to anything like that."

She saw him nod in understanding, and then was surprised to see his face become one of alarm.

"Rika we're going to be late! It's Monday remember?!"

It took a moment for her brain to register what he had just said, then another few to realize what the statement had meant.

Pulling up her D-Arc she saw that it was already quarter to six, and knew that class would be starting in less than half an hour.

"Oh man, this sucks, Ms Asaji is going to kill me if I'm late again!" Takato cried pulling on his hair.

Rika smirked as she watched the boy's antics and shook her head.

"Relax Gogglehead, just lay out and tell them what happened tomorrow," Rika explained with a shrug.

The boy looked at her then blinked.

"You mean tell them-"

"That you got called out to take care of a Wild One last night and had to camp out here," she 'explained' again.

"Oh, so not-"

"Anything about us, no. That's none of their business. I'll stop by this afternoon alright?" Rika asked as she ran out of the hideout with a wave.

"Oh, uh, sure, yeah, I'll see you then!" Takato shouted back at her retreating form.

Rika had quickly found Renamon and explained the situation to her, namely to get her home as quickly as possible. She wasn't quite ready for anyone to know about any recent changes, she still wasn't even sure what had changed or if anything had even changed at all, but she needed time to think right now. Takato not showing up was going to be suspicious enough, but if both of them missed the day…

Shaking her head, she realized that she had almost done what Takato had both this morning and the day before. Besides, since when had she cared what other people thought?

When Renamon landed in her family's backyard and set her down, she took one step towards her bedroom but then stopped.

With a small smile gracing her lips she instead turned and went towards the main house where she knew her mother and grandmother would be eating breakfast and waiting for her to 'wake up'. She had a lot of work to do and the sooner she got started the better.

"_I guess it's true what they say after all. The more things change, the more they stay the same."_

* * *

End chapter seven.

*Collapses into a heap of boneless mass* Ok, that's it, it's DONE!

No not the fic, just this chapter. It's been my bane now for over a month! I don't think I've ever had this much trouble trying to get in sync with a character or to just work up the nerve to work on a chapter, but this one took the gold. I wanted to keep away from the stereotype and typical romance development, both the standard over all and for this ship. I like to keep my writing unique, or at least as close to it as possible. That was rather difficult for this chapter however given the characters personalities thought. Rika is emotionally underdeveloped and Takato is sort of wimpy so there are few options given. Hopefully you guys and girls enjoyed this despite it taking so long to get out. Most of my work is a twist on real life experiences to an extreme degree, but this entire chapter was written from my caffeine supercharged imagination. Now, there is one more chapter to go after this one, and then a special 'bonus' chapter to follow, but I'll tell you right now that it features a small time skip (one week). I might go back and write a short story about what happened between now and then but it will be explained for the most part and is nothing major. I haven't worked on a name for it yet but I will explain the meaning behind this chapter and the previous chapters names in its AN.

So how was it? Good? Bad? Horrible? Let me know! I count on reviews for inspiration to continue writing and to continue improving and developing my style. I might be a bit rusty since I've had writers block for so long, but I hope that this chapter was at least partially enjoyable…I'll respond to your reviews eventually, it just might take me a little while.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	8. Promise: To Him

Promise: To Him

AN: Yeah yeah, I'm late as can be and I know it. The last few months have been murder I swear. I'm not even going to list off why this chapter took so long as it would be a story in of itself. I do wish to apologize for taking so long, and thank all of you who waited patiently for me to update. I'm not really sure about how this chapter turned out, its kinda cliché at some parts, but its hard not to be at all times. I also want to warn you that Takato is sort of…well, he's a bit of a wimp towards the end, but I have a good reason for it as you'll see. This is the last true chapter of the story, but there will be another that I'll start working on as soon as I can. So, here it is, after a long and trying wait, the eighth and final chapter of Promise.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

* * *

Fiddling the pencil between her fingers over each knuckle, Rika once again glanced up at the wall mounted clock and groaned. Not only had it failed to move forward by any noticeable distance since the last time she had looked up, but unless her eyes were playing tricks on her the thing had actually moved _backwards._

"_Ugh, what is with that stupid thing? It's never moved this slow before! Either the batteries are dead or someone keeps messing with it…"_ she thought as she cast a dark glance towards Kazu before shaking her head.

The day had been a fairly normal one; well it had been once she got to school anyways.

When she had returned home after unintentionally spending the night out at the park she had decided to set a few things straight. When she reached the table where her mother and grandmother were eating however…

She chickened out…sort of.

* * *

Flashback

"Rika? How did you get in through the front-"

"Sorry mom, it was a *_yawn*_ Wild One. I got stuck camping out at the hideout," she explained extremely thankful for the yawn that she hadn't faked.

"Camped out? Rika sweetie, why didn't you just call one of us? We would have come pick you up, you know that," her grandmother admonished with a small frown.

Eyes wide the youngest of the room's occupants reached for her pocket and pulled out her new cell phone (her old one met its demise after it had been landed on during last week's battle with the MetalMomamon).

Growling she slammed her remaining (and empty) palm into her face with a weak groan.

"I can't believe I forgot about that," she muttered half wondering if Takato had forgotten as well. A tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered that he might have on purpose, but it was quickly (and painfully) silenced.

"I forgot about it, sorry. I was just so…well, I pretty much conked out when the fight was over. I probably wouldn't have made it to the hideout if it wasn't for Renamon, and you know she can't dial on one of these things with her paws," she replied with a tiny smirk at the mental image. She might have been tired but she still had some of her wits about her. She had replied honestly, just without telling the whole story.

Which she still didn't know herself.

"Well you must have been tired indeed, do you want to stay home today Rika? I'm sure your teacher would understand if you did," her grandmother offered.

Sitting down to eat her own breakfast she shook her head before replying.

"Sorry grandma, but I gotta make it in today. It shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"You spent the entire night in a concrete box, sleeping on the floor, and you still want to go to school?" Her mother asked skeptically, reminding her daughter that her career as a model hadn't been so successful _entirely _because of her looks.

Thinking quickly, she hit the failsafe panic button.

"Its personal mom…"

Seeing her mother and grandmothers matching expressions of piqued interest she groaned.

"Look, I had a long night, I don't have a lot of time to get ready, and I _need_ to be there today. If you really want to know why I'll tell you, but not until this afternoon."

"Why this afternoon?"

Stumped, Rika tried to find a way around her grandmother's question that wouldn't just get her into even bigger trouble. It was an innocent question on the surface, but it carried a warning and forceful undertone, one she had become very familiar with in the last few years and recognized as genuine concern.

"It's nothing bad, I just…if I'm not there today someone else will be in a lot of trouble, someone who doesn't deserve to be."

"Is one of your little friends-"

"Yes its one of my friends, and I already told you it's nothing bad, they just need me to be there today to help them with something."

Flashback end

* * *

From there it had basically degenerated into her mother trying to goad her into playing twenty questions while her grandmothers went about her business. It had been a close call, but she had managed to get out of there without letting anything slip and had made it to class on time thanks to Renamon.

"_Now I've got that to deal with after taking care of Takato…and I still don't even know what to do about him!"_

That was _one_ of the thoughts that had been plaguing her for the entire day. Aside from that however she also had a number of other thoughts floating around in her mind, among them were where she and Takato were going to go from here, what did they do from here on out, would they tell the others, how would they tell the others, how would the others react, and the hardest one of all, how on earth were they going to deal with their parents on the issue?

Looking back over the years provided her with a measure of comfort with some of these, but it didn't erase them completely. She knew from their adventure in the digital world years ago that so long as they had a set goal in mind they could reach it, even if they didn't know where it actually was. Likewise she knew that their friends wouldn't react but so negatively, otherwise they wouldn't be friends.

The parent issue was the only major problem she could see at the moment, and even that was more of an unknown than it was a problem. Both her mother and grandmother liked Takato quite a bit and had never minded him before. She also knew that her grandmother would be very tolerant, possibly even supportive of him since he was now in the exact same predicament she had been in so many years ago. A 'commoner' who had caught the attentions of someone 'highclass'. Her mother could go either way however. She couldn't exactly call down on the boy because of her own past, but on the other hand she might try to 'protect' her daughter from making the same mistake she had.

These were just maybes though, possibilities and uncertainties. The big problem in her mind was going to be _his_ parents. She had met them plenty of times over the years, but she still didn't have a good feel for them or know what they thought of her. The only thing she knew for sure was that they didn't mind her being their son's friend. More than that she could only guess.

Had things not been so serious, she might have found it funny that she was more afraid of how hisparents would react if and when they found out about their son having a girlfriend (especially after what had happened with Jeri) than she was of her own mother and grandmother.

Looking back down at the formally blank piece of paper in front of her, she made another addition to the growing list she had been working on to at least appear to be paying attention in class. It was written in her own style of shorthand so she knew that no one other than her could read it, but she was still careful about working on it.

The short confrontation earlier at the hideout between Guilmon and Renamon had sparked a few other memories from long ago, memories she had written off as being part of what made digimon what they were and hadn't questioned due to everything else that had been going on at the time. Of course she had been twelve at the time and they lacked all but the most basic understanding of their digital partners and what made them tick back then. Now that they actually knew a bit more about their nature, some of those mysterious occurrences weren't so mysterious anymore.

The first had been Guilmon's astonishing strength and power, something that she had despised and even envied after her first few run-ins with Takato and his partner. She and Renamon had been partners for several months by then but there was still a noticeable gap between them, one that went beyond the type advantage Guilmon had being a Virus digimon. Now that they knew their partner's power was fed by the emotions of its tamer it didn't seem all that surprising. She had closed her heart, shut herself off from the world and because of that had denied Renamon her true strength. Takato on the other hand was pretty easygoing most of the time but his emotions were incredibly strong, even when compared to her own.

She shuddered every time she remembered the way Takato's eyes had looked when Leomon was struck down. He had been so far away from her, but it was like he had been standing right in front of her. The hate, the grief, the sheer animalistic urge to hurt, maim, and kill radiating from his eyes had been choking. There were a few _good_ memories though, like the two times he had managed to go Crimson Mode while merged into Gallantmon, or the first time Growlmon had digivolved into WarGrowlmon.

That aside, there had been numerous occasions where their partners had pulled off amazing feats when their tamer had been under extreme emotional duress, Takato's just always seemed to be more…violent than any of the others.

Another item she had quickly crossed off was how Takato had been able to feel whatever Growlmon felt during his battle with the first Deva. Synchronization was part of their everyday life now, they were all close enough to their partners mentally and emotionally that they could feel them at all times, as well as 'think think' as Kazu had dubbed it. 'Think think' basically meant that they could 'think' whatever their partner was thinking. It wasn't exactly like telepathy as much as it was they simply felt or thought whatever their partner was at the time on an instinctual level. This was usually simple things such as 'I'm hungry' or 'I'm confused' but at times it had been more complicated issues.

Looking over the list again, she saw that she had crossed out all but two items, two events that she still had no answers for, and both had happened on the same day not even an hour between them.

The day that Leomon had been killed would forever be etched into their minds, and none of the reasons were fond ones. Aside from Jeri, she probably had the most difficulty in dealing with it out of the entire group. Jeri had been the first person she had ever tried to teach, and up until then she had done nothing but make Rika proud to call her 'her student'. Unfortunately Jeri and Leomon's accomplishments fed her still lingering ego; after all she had taught her everything she knew, so anything and everything she did was because of her.

What she hadn't counted on was the opposite also being true, that she would feel personally responsible for the death of Leomon. She had been able to shelf the feelings for some time, but when 'Jeri' turned out to be an imposter she nearly broke down. She blamed herself for not being a better teacher, for not taking it more seriously, and for trying to use her friend to boost her dwindling ego and pride. What made it worse was that it had been Impmon, someone they had counted as a friend who had done the deed. Shame from her thoughts and attempt to use Jerry to put herself on a pedestal, combined with the pain of betrayal was more than she could handle at the time. She would be forever grateful that she had been in the company of her friends at the time, even if they were going through the same pains, at least they were doing so together.

While none of the memories from that day would ever be even remotely pleasant, there were a few that she still labeled as 'curious' however.

The first had been Guilmon digivolving _without_ his D-Arc, or even _Takato_ being present.

They had reached the point that the four gates were visible on the horizon, and she had complained that it wouldn't take as long to reach them if Guilmon wasn't slowing them down so much. Kyubimon could only carry so much weight, and neither Guardromon nor Leomon could speed things up by carrying him. They pretty much had to walk because of him.

To be completely fair, her irritably had been especially high that morning after having to put up with Kazu and Kenta's snoring for several nights, but she had thought it (and still did to this day) to be a valid point. All of their partners could fly or at least run _very_ fast, but Guilmon was not built with long distance running in mind.

When the others reminded her that Takato was still with Henry and thereby it was impossible for Guilmon to digivolve, they were surprised to see the red dino become enveloped in red light and digivolve into his Champion form before their eyes and simply blink like nothing unusual had happened.

Not wanting to waste time, they chose to accept it and not question it. Besides, with Leomon present they were reminded that digimon digivolved on their own every day so it was nothing strange or unusual, especially when concerning Guilmon of all digimon.

That had turned out to be false however, as not one of their partners had digivolved without their aid or at least their presence since then. Yet he had, even if only once. That raised the question of whether it was something any of their partners could do under the right circumstance, or if it was something only Guilmon could do.

The second event was even stranger than the first, but it was also much more difficult to focus on clearly due to the circumstances involved.

To say that when Megidramon and Takato vanished into thin air that they had been worried would be the understatement of the century. All of them had been stretched far beyond their emotional limits; she had even shifted back into her old persona as a coping mechanism for awhile because of it. Even if he was in his Mega form at the time, Impmon had been the one to kill Leomon, furthermore he had defeated both Taomon and Rapidmon soundly, and had even managed to put down Megidramon. As terrifying as the result had been, Guilmon's forced digivolution had been a chance to win the fight, a chance they needed badly. So when the strongest digimon of their group, and the only person in the group at the time she thought of as a friend simply vanished, it was nearly the straw the broke the camels back.

So while seeing Takato and Guilmon then return not even a second later had been a welcome change in their seemingly endless supply of bad luck for that day, it almost cost them everything.

Everyone had been watching the two of them and so focused on their returned friends that they failed to notice an important detail, a _very_ important detail. She had been wiping a piece of grit out of her eye when she caught sight of Belzemon out of the corner of her peripheral vision. When she saw him reach for his weapons, her heart stopped. Renamon was still down for the count, and the others hadn't even noticed. She was too far from Takato to knock him out of the way, and far too weak to do anything to Belzamon herself to stop the attack.

In her mind, she saw it happen all over again, Leomon's death flashed across her mind tearing at her from the inside out. The image then shifted to Takato in Leomon's place, him dying and disappearing forever before her eyes.

At that moment, she didn't care if Belzamon turned his anger on her for what she did, she didn't care what happened to her in the least. Her only thoughts were those of fear for her friend's life.

Taking a deep breath, she yelled as loud as her voice would, calling his name and warning him of the impending danger with a cry that shattered the peaceful but dangerous scene before her.

Just as he looked up to see the incoming Double Impact attack, Guilmon's tail swiped out in front of them and deflected it away like it had been nothing.

Only it hadn't been 'nothing', it had been far from nothing. Belzamon's Double Impact was still one of the strongest attacks they had ever come across to this day. Anything lower than an Ultimate would be destroyed instantly, and even an Ultimate could only take two or three hits at most before going down. But somehow Guilmon, a Rookie level had deflected the attack to protect himself and his tamer with little to no effort at all.

"_I could have sworn that I saw…ugh, come on Rika, get that thing out of your head, it was an accident and it's gone for good,"_ she chided herself for even bringing up Megidramon.

Glancing back up at the clock she saw that there was only a few minutes left before the end of class and allowed herself a small smile.

The day had been long and boring, but it was almost over. She had never really noticed just how dull things were without her goggleheaded friend around these days. She still had the other Tamer's, but they weren't exactly the same thing. Henry was a friend, but just that, a friend, same as Jeri. Ryo had thankfully graduated a few years ago, so she didn't have to put up with him anymore. At best he was a rival, at worst he was an irritant. Kazu and Kenta…they were friends of a friend and nothing more.

It wasn't that she didn't like them or couldn't get along with them; she just shared very little in the way of common ground with them. They had taming, and that was about it. She wasn't into computer programming or hacking in the least, she didn't read much in the way of manga or even watch that much TV. All she had was taming. Takato, while having several other interests outside of taming and digimon was on a very similar wavelength to her and could go on for hours about the subject with no problem at all. The others would try to change the subject or lose interest after awhile.

She admitted that she was fairly limited in topics to discuss, but that wasn't entirely her fault. She simply had nothing else that she enjoyed, nothing else to occupy her time, and nothing else she was interested in pursuing. She wasn't even all that comfortable with discussing things she did enjoy but for so long, she was a listener, not a talker. She had gotten better over the years, but her social skills were still sorely lacking.

Hearing the bell ring she was jarred out of her small trance and instantly went into action. Not wanting to draw attention to herself she calmly put her textbook and notes into her backpack and slung it across her shoulder before making her way to the door. She said her farewells to the others, either nodding or giving a short wave which they returned, then left.

Everyone had been treating her just as they normally would, just as she had expected. Henry still hadn't brought up the incident from the pizzeria two days ago, Kazu and Kenta were still overly friendly and annoying, and Ms Asaji assigned them an essay and a report for homework _again_. The only difference had been Jerry; the girl had simply smiled at her once or twice throughout the day but aside from that she had been unusually quiet, even during lunch. Kazu had asked if she was alright but she simply brushed it off stating that she was just a little tired and not to worry about it. She didn't know why, but for some reason her actions were bugging Rika. It was like being tied up and having your nose itch, you couldn't do anything about it unless someone let you.

"_Does she know something? Did she see something? What if…no…no…come on, stay calm, maybe she's just having a rough day. I have to stop being so paranoid about this, it's really starting to-"_

"Rika?"

Nearly jumping out of her skin the young redhead spun on her heel with her senses on high alert, only to see her partner leaning against the schools brick wall with her usual half bored expression in place.

"Are you well Rika?"

Shaking her head she quickly pulled her scattered thoughts together.

"Yeah, sorry about that Renamon, just a lot going on right now…could you uh…could you take me to Tak-I mean, the Matsuki bakery?"

Renamon ignored the slip up just as she always had on the rare occasions they happened, and lifted her tamer before vanishing into thin air.

* * *

Feeling the rush of cool air blowing against her face, she tried to calm herself down but was finding it extremely difficult. She felt both fear and excitement in equal parts, along with a little uncertainty and a tiny bit of doubt over what to do.

"_Why am I…ok…ok, I know we need to talk, but…how are we going to do this? I don't want to screw this up, but…"_

Groaning, she took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts to gain some semblance of control. Her emotions had been running amuck and she didn't like the feeling of not being completely in control as she had for so many years.

"_I need to know he thinks…and feels…I need to know…but so does he, he might take risks with just about everything he does in life, but he never takes them when his friends are involved. I need to be…honest…"_

Feeling a deep pit open in the bottom of her stomach, she shuddered.

"_He was so fixated on not being good enough...what's he going to think when he finds out…I cant keep it from coming up forever, but maybe I can at least stall it."_

Not wanting to give any strength to her fears or doubts she put away _that_ particular thought for now.

"_I'll tell him, but not now, not for a little while at least. I don't think he'd be able to take that just yet."_

Narrowing her eyes, she forced her mind to change subjects. There was a lot they had to sort through, and they had a lot of work ahead of them, she couldn't afford to worry about maybe and possibly, she needed to focus on what she could do for now.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to reach the Matsuki bakery, but even if it had taken them the entire day it wouldn't have been enough time in her mind. When Renamon deposited her on her feet she found herself once again being jarred from her thoughts.

"I'll try not to be too long, but I cant-"

"Take as long as you need Rika. I might not fully understand humans, but I can tell when something is important," Renamon stated cutting off her partner before she finished the statement with a dismissive wave. She needed as much strength as she could pull together right now, and Renamon knew that.

Nodding in silent appreciation, the girl opening the bakeries door.

* * *

As soon as she opened the door she was hit with a strong and now very familiar scent. Feeling her heart rate bump up slightly she quickly made her way over to the cash register, not sure if she was thankful or disheartened that Mie was running it.

"_Ok girl, you can do this. She likes you remember? Just play it cool and don't screw up!"_ Her pride reminded her 'gently' before giving her a double thumbs up. Rika again cursed Takato's contagious imagination before taking a deep breath and stepped up to face her first 'challenge'.

"Hello and welcome to the, oh Rika, how are you?" Mie asked with her usual warm and gentle smile as she lowered the magazine she had been reading. The woman's smile was more like her grandmothers than her mothers. It was kind and friendly, but it had a mischievousness to it, a silent promise that its bearer had no qualms teasing or heckling someone should they or the occasion warrant it.

"I'm…fine, just a little worn out from, the weekend," she quickly saved herself before making a mess this early on.

"Ah yes, I'll bet you are. I remember when I was your age; there wasn't a force on earth strong enough to keep me indoors, I pretty much grew up in the park."

"Really? I thought you…well," unsure of how to not come off rude, Rika was saved by Mie's chuckling.

"What? That I grew up working in a bakery? That wasn't until after I was married. I still like being outdoors whenever I can be though; it gets a little claustrophobic in here from time to time."

"Uh huh…"

"So what can I get you? Need anything, or are you here for Takato?"

Feeling that she was being put on the spot, Rika donned her best act and went with it.

"Takato wasn't in today and I was just checking on him," wiggling her shoulder she then added 'and dropping off his homework. I think Ms Asaji was in a bad mood for some reason, it's been awhile since she dumped this much on us on a Monday."

Mie chuckled.

"Really?"

"Well…an essay and a report is…a bit much, even compared to when I was still in my old private school."

Mie flinched before shaking her head.

"Still, it's a bit odd that you'd come all the way out here just to drop off his homework. We really haven't seen much of you in a while, but the last two weeks…" Mie left the statement hanging.

Seeing the bait for what it was, Rika sidestepped it easily.

Shrugging her shoulders Rika continued her act.

"Time changes things I guess. I've just been real busy for awhile and didn't have time to do anything."

"But you do now huh? Tell me, just what has time _changed_ that you're not so busy anymore?"

It took everything she had not to let her jaw hit the ground. The 'bait' she thought she had seen before had been nothing but a distraction. Mie wasn't 'fishing' she was hunting, and she had just stepped into a bear trap to avoid a fishhook.

Not having any other choice, she played the one good card she had picked up from Kazu over the years.

She played dumb.

"Pardon?" She asked schooling her face perfectly to look confused.

"Ah its nothing. Anyways, Takato's still upstairs sleeping, whatever he had to deal with last night must have really taken it out of him."

"Oh…well…" Rika could sense that she was being offered the choice of two poisons, either admit that she knew something about last night, or leave and deal with her pride all the way home.

"You could go ahead and wake him up if you'd like, his shift starts in about an hour," Takahero said stepping out from the kitchen wiping his hands on a towel.

Blinking it took a moment for Rika's brain to process the mans sudden appearance and what he was saying, but she pulled herself out of her thoughts and nodded before turning to head for the stairs.

Watching Rika disappear up the stairs, Takehero gave his wife a sideways glance which was returned with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Just because Takato talks in his sleep is no reason to tease the poor girl. For all you know he could have just been dreaming," he said disapprovingly.

"Well, I was just trying to find out if he was or not. Nothing wrong with that is there?"

Shaking his head, Takehero returned to the kitchen determined to stay out of this while Mie went back to watching the register and waiting for the afternoon rush of customers.

* * *

"_Whew, that was entirely too close. Did Takato already tell them? Maybe it just slipped, or…no, no, he wouldn't say anything, I know he wouldn't, but how did she…"_ Mentally filing the encounter under 'things I cant do anything about' she continued her way towards Takato's room using the remaining seconds to steel herself as best she could.

Reaching the door, she knocked 'politely' and waited for a few seconds to see if he was already awake, or to wake him if he wasn't.

When several seconds passed and she didn't hear anything she opened the door and peeked in with one eye.

Sure enough she could see two 'lumps' on the bunk bed at the other end of the room, one on the top bunk and the other on the bottom.

"_How did he sleep through…"_

Now adding curious to the list of reasons why she was doing this, she entered the room as quietly as she could and crept her way up to the bed.

The room was somewhere between 'halfway tidy' and messy, but leaning more towards messy. A few random pieces of clothes here and there littered the ground, and various boxes and other containers spotted the rest of the small room's floor. She idly wondered how it had gotten so bad in just a week since it hadn't been anywhere nearly as cluttered when she had stayed over.

Finally reaching the bed, she rose on the tips of her toes and peered over the edge of the top bunk.

"_So that's how he does it huh?"_

Curled up on his side, the teenage boy was resting his head on top of one pillow while using his second one to cover his head, effectively forming a small sound proof barrier around his ears.

"_Now, how do I wake him up?"_

She heard an impish chuckle in the back of her mind before turning scarlet at the image her pride suggested.

"_NO WAY, NOT HAPPENING! I told him that was a one time thing back at the park!"_

"_Awe come on, you know you want too,"_ her pride poked still chuckling. _"Unless you're scared,"_ it added before Rika silenced it.

Her pride might have been strong, but she had other factors to keep it in check now thankfully. A few years back she might have actually done it simply to appease her pride, but that was then and this was now.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out and grabbed the boy by the shoulder, not tightly but still firm enough that she could pull on him.

"Hey, Takato, come on, wake up."

The only response she got was a groan as he shifted slightly to bury his head deeper into his pillow.

Shaking him a second time, this time with a little more force she tried again.

"Takato, come on, we need to talk."

"Moe mamay," (Go away) he replied before shifting again, this time moving away from her and towards the wall.

"_So he wants me to go away does he? Well too bad for him."_

Shaking him again, this time with double the force from the last attempt she succeeded in getting a reaction out of him.

Unfortunately this reaction was for him to roll onto his other side, facing away from her.

Now sporting a large tick mark on her forehead, she climbed up the first two steps of the bunk beds ladder and yanked the pillow covering Takato's head.

"_My turn,"_ her pride snickered as she carefully reached out with both hands towards the boys face.

Placing one hand over his mouth, she squeezed his nose with the other.

Rika did not like to be ignored, and neither did her pride.

The effect was instant; shaking awake the boy lashed out towards her but missed when she released him and hopped down from the ladder.

Gasping for breath he glared at her.

"Rika? What was that for!? And what are you doing in my room in the first place? Shouldn't you be in class?"

Crossing her arms, Rika returned his glare with on weak one of her own.

"I was trying to wake your lazy butt up. It's four in the afternoon Takato."

Blinking, the boy looked over at the clock on his wall and gaped.

"I slept…the entire day? That can't be right _*yawn* _I feel like I just…wait a minute…how did I even get up here?" He asked scratching his head in confusion.

"What do you mean, 'how did you get up here' it's your room."

Before she could continue any further the boy held up his hand and clutched the side of his head.

"Ugh, man I feel like I got hit by a truck…what happened to…"

Seeing Rika's confused and slightly worried expression, he clarified what he had said earlier as he climbed out of the bunk and down the small ladder.

"I didn't come up here Rika, last thing I remember was…eating breakfast…mom was worried about me and dad was cooking up the second batch for the day…then…nothing."

As she studied the boy in front of her, the first thing Rika noticed was the fact that Takato was wearing the same thing he had been when she saw him this morning. His clothes were disheveled and wrinkly and his hair looked like it had been sucked into a turbine. It wasn't sticking straight up however, rather it was all sticking out to the left like a giant arrow.

Then, she noticed something…else.

Choking to suppress her chuckle, she looked away for a moment to compose herself before returning her gaze to meet her friends.

"Uh…Takato…you said the last thing you remembered was eating breakfast…right?"

Blinking several times, Takato nodded slowly.

"You didn't happen to have ramen for breakfast this morning did you?"

"No, but I did have some of last night's noodle soup, why?" he asked, clearly confused.

"You might want to go look in a mirror," Rika said as her twitching lips formed into a small smile.

Now even more confused, the boy made his way towards the room's door and stepped outside.

The second he was out of the room Rika's composed nature shattered as she broke down into a small fit of laughs and what could be called (but for reasons of safety wont) giggles.

Not even a second later a loud shout was heard from what Rika assumed was the bathroom, shortly followed by the sound of running water.

A few minutes later a red faced Takato reentered the room with a kicked puppy dog pout.

"It's not funny Rika."

Leaning forward and clutching her stomach, Rika nodded before replying.

"Yes it is!"

Several moments later she managed to pull herself back together, and was surprised to see her friend sporting a smile of his own.

"What?"

Smile disappearing Takato shrugged. "Nothing, I was just, uh, remembering something I saw on TV a few days ago while I was waiting for you to stop laughing at me," he defended.

"Hey, not my fault _noodle_ _hair_," Rika shot back with a chuckle.

"Yeah yeah, lets all laugh at Takato, sheesh you're just as bad as Kazu and Kenta sometimes."

Now glaring at the boy her face shifted from the small glowing smile to one that Takato was much more familiar with.

"Ok ok I take it back…but it still wasn't nice," Takato said with a snort.

Shaking her head Rika sighed. "Well…"

"Yeah…um…what did you want to…uh…" Takato tried to start.

Tightening her fists, Rika took a deep breath before speaking.

"Look…lets just…start small ok. What happened last night? I remember fighting the Stingmon, but after using Talisman Sphere everything went black…"

Studying her friend for a moment, she saw several emotions play across his face before he sighed.

"I'd offer you a place to sit, but…well," indicating the still occupied bottom bunk, of which only the tip of a red tail could be seen sticking out of the blanket.

Sensing that her friend was trying to worm his way out of the impending conversation Rika groaned. "Well just…sit here ok? The floor is fine alright?" She asked as she sat herself against the wall next to the bed and crossed her legs.

"_Come on Takato, one step at a time, you can do this…please,"_ she thought biting her lip.

The boy shifted from one foot to the other before setting down a short distance from her on an angle. They weren't sitting face to face or side to side but something between.

Seeing him take a few deep breaths, she knew that he was trying, and that something was worrying him.

"Well…after you and Renamon unmerged…there was another Stingmon that came out of nowhere, I had to deal with him…and it wasn't easy. After that me and Renamon got you and Guilmon to the hideout, found the place had been trashed by the Wormmon, then we pretty much just hunkered down for the night…and no, I didn't put you in my arms, Renamon did that I swear."

"_He's…not lying…but he's hiding something…"_

"How did you manage to get the red stomach all the way to the hideout?" She prodded.

Seeing him flinch, she knew she must have touched on something.

"Well…uh…you see…I…kinda…sorta…didn't….Renamon did. I…just, well, you see, Guilmon's a lot heavier than you, so I suggested to Renamon that we switch because it made a lot more sense than me trying to carry Guilmon, you know how heavy he is right? I mean-"

"Takato…stop. I get the point. You carried me to the hideout right?" She asked forcing the blood down from her face.

Seeing him look away, Rika's hands clenched driving her nails into her palms.

"Look, Takato, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm not…mad at you or anything. You made a call, and it was the best one you could do at the time. There's no way you could have dragged Guilmon that far, and the only other option would have been for Renamon to carry me then come back. You did what you thought was the best option, and it was."

"Yeah…well…I'm still…sorry. I mean, I know you don't like people touching you, and-"

"Takato, did I complain about you holding my hand when I almost fell off Locomon, or any of the times you pulled me up or pushed me out of the way of an attack? I'm…uncomfortable with physical contact, but I know when something is necessary and I can deal with that. Besides, it's not like we've never…hugged. So stop apologizing, it's really anoy-it's nothing to apologize for alright?" She caught herself before 'annoying' slipped out, remembering that this was still very thin ice they were walking on at the moment and she didn't want to do anything that might spook Takato away from her.

"Oh, well…uh…thanks…I think? It wasn't all that much, I mean, you're pretty light compared to my backpack, and those hugs were always…uh, never mind," Takato wisely let the subject drop when he noticed the pink ting creeping its way across Rika's cheeks.

"Ok, moving on, how did my shoes get off? Did you do that or did Renamon?"

Seeing him gulp, Rika raised an eyebrow.

"Takato, I just told you, if it's necessary I don't mind, I might not like it, but I'm not going to get mad at you or anything. I just want to know what happened last night."

Rika watched as he bit his lip, and then nodded his head.

"Yeah…uh, it…was me. I remembered something that my grandfather told me years ago, and I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Ok? What does that have to do with my shoes?"

Takato swallowed then ran his tongue across his bottom lip before speaking.

"Grandpa told me that it's really dangerous for you to be cold and have wet feet for long periods of time. He…well, he was in the army back in the forties, and saw…he saw a lot of things. When you get cold, your blood stops going to your fingers and toes and does all it can to keep what's important warm. That isn't really dangerous unless its for a really long time or its really cold…but if you've got water in your boots…err…shoes, and you're cold, the water…well, it's really bad for you. Grandpa told me that that's how a lot of guys he knew ended up…not having all their toes."

"Ok…um…Takato…"

"I…was worried ok? You were out cold and I kept trying to wake you up but you weren't responding at all, not even a groan. Then when the lightning really started going off I saw your face and…what Grandpa told me came out of nowhere."

"Wait a minute, my face? What was wrong with my face?" Rika asked skeptically.

"Rika, your lips were as blue as ice and your skin was so pale that you looked like you were already …"

Seeing the pain flash in his eyes, Rika felt a small tug at the back of her mind but chose to ignore it for now.

"I took off your shoes and your socks, and tired to warm you up. If the blood stops flowing to your feet or hands for too long…your heart slows down…and since being wet makes it harder to keep warm…well, that's why I did what I did. I had to get the blood going in your feet again."

"_Do what I did? What did he do exactly?"_

Not wanting to come off as rude or suspicious, it took Rika a minute to find the right words she was looking for.

"What…uh…what did you do?"

Watching his reactions, and feeling that same tug she had before when he broke eye contact, she tried again.

"Takato, I already told you, I'm not going to get angry. I know you, and you're one of the few people I trust in completely. I might not know what happened, but I know that you did what you did because you had my best interests at heart. You were looking after me and doing what you could to help me."

Seeing him squirm, she waited until he finally spoke.

"I…it wasn't much, I just…well…sort of…rubbed your feet and…blew hot air on them. The Wormmon had chewed up everything so it wasn't like I had a blanket or anything to wrap you up with honest! I dried your feet, rubbed them down until they had color in them again then put the socks I found on you and gave you to Renamon!"

"_Wait a minute, gave me the socks he found? Then that means…he…"_

"Takato, were you barefoot all night?"

Blinking, the boy nodded as he answered.

"Yeah, why? It's not that big a deal, you were the one that needed them," he replied weakly.

Taking a deep breath and forcing the color from her face once again, she continued the conversation despite its growing awkwardness.

"O…k…so you carried me to the hideout, took care of my feet…then Renamon put me in your arms?"

Looking off to the side, Takato coughed into his hand.

"Uh, yeah, that's pretty much the short version."

Nodding her head, Rika swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Thank…you…"

Seeing him look up at her in surprise, she was the one to break eye contact this time.

"I…really mean it…thank you."

When she looked back, she found that he was the one now looking away.

"Yeah…uh…no problem…you'd…probably have done the same thing."

Her only reply was a non vocal nod.

They were out of time, they both knew it. What happened last night had been discussed, and now all that was left was this morning.

"_Should I go first…or what? I don't want to push him too far…but at the same time…"_

Narrowing her eyes, she looked over her painfully short list of options, and chose what she hoped was the best one.

"Look…Takato…I…we…we need to talk about…this morning."

Seeing him give a tiny nod, she continued.

"Ok, first off…how long have you known?"

The boy waited a minute before doing anything, then sighed and lowered his head.

"How long what? How long did I think about you…that way, or how long have I known that you did me?"

Clenching her fists and taking another deep breath, she closed her eyes to pull herself together. She was too close to fall apart or run away now, _they_ were too close.

"I…thought that…you might have…for a little while…but I always sort of thought that you had a thing for Ryo," he started.

"What?"

Scratching his neck, Takato continued though he still wasn't looking towards her.

"Well, you two just…seemed to be something…I don't know. You went back and forth all the time with the little insults and he was always teasing you…and…well, you have to admit he made you blush a lot. I thought you liked him, so sue me."

Feeling her eye twitch, Rika didn't know if she wanted to scream or to cry.

"_When Ryo would tick me off and embarrass me he thought…but whenever he makes me he thinks I'm angry?!"_

Had this been a cartoon, a light bulb would have clicked on above her head.

"Takato…can you tell the difference between when a girl is embarrassed in a bad way and when she's…embarrassed in a...well, not so bad way?"

"I…uh…no. I just thought that…I only had what I could see to work with ok?"

"_What he…saw?"_

"Could you…explain that a little better?"

Takato groaned, and she could hear a tiny whine in the back of his throat. Not that she blamed him as this wasn't exactly at the top of her list of things she wanted to discuss, but she needed to know.

"Whenever you…blushed because of something Ryo would do or say, it never took you more than a few seconds to shrug it off and go back to normal. But whenever I did…you would avoid me for awhile. I thought that I was making you uncomfortable and that you…well, I can't say that anyone wants to be embarrassed, but I thought you didn't mind it as much when it was Ryo since you recovered from it quicker," he explained.

Running the information over in her head a few times, she was able to figure out the logic he had used after a few tries. Running it over a few more times she was able to figure out how to 'adjust' his view on the subject.

"Takato, what makes something take longer to fix?" She asked.

"Uh…what?"

"I asked you, what makes something take longer to fix?" She repeated the question keeping her face as close to neutral as possible.

"I don't know, it needs special parts, how much it was damaged-" Rika cut him off.

"Exactly, now think, blushing is common for when a person is embarrassed. I know you've been plenty of times yourself, so now put the two together. Why would it take longer for me to recover from anything you did than what Ryo did?"

She waited patiently for a few moments until she could almost see the light bulb click on above his head.

"Because…it had a stronger effect…"

Rika nodded once again.

"But what about the constant bickering, the insults, the-"

"_Gogglehead_ ring any bells?" Rika asked, temporarily silencing the younger boy. She watched as he processed what he was learning and saw his mouth go from a straight line to a perfect O.

"Now, the second one…how long…did you think of me like that?"

Takato took a long deep breath, and then to her surprise, he chuckled.

"Not sure really…though I kinda thought…you looked…I mean…_*cough*_ when I first saw you…you know…I…didn't not like what I saw…it's kinda why I called you what I did the first time you let me in your house," Takato said as his chuckle became more nervous and less 'funny'.

Feeling her cheeks light up Rika did nothing but absorb what her friend had indirectly said to her.

Though he had beaten around the bush about it, he had just admitted to having thought that she was somewhere in the neighborhood of 'cute' when he saw her in his dream.

"You…really…thought that…back then?" she asked carefully.

Scratching the tip of his nose, Takato bit his lip before responding.

"It's not a matter of _thought_ as much as it's _think_."

Feeling the heat spread from her face to the roots of her hair Rika looked away.

"Ga-Takato, you don't…have to say stuff like that. I know where I fit in, I'm not my mom and I never will be. I'm a tomboy because," her friend cut her off before she could begin her own pity parade.

"You're joking right?"

Looking back at her friend, she did nothing to hide the flash of anger and touch of pain in her eyes.

"Rika, you're…Rika, you are very beautiful, its one of…well, its one of the main reasons I never tried to…you know. I still think you're a few tiers out of my league to be perfectly honest," Takato said nervously, though with enough strength to it that it carried some weight.

Studying him closely, she could tell that he was afraid of her reaction towards his statement, but she couldn't detect a single trace of deceit or humor in him.

In short, he honestly believed what he had said.

"Takato, I'm not…"

"Rika, don't you think that I might have _some_ idea what beautiful looks like? I'm not just a guy, I'm an artist, I draw people all the time, and I think you are. You're perfectly proportioned, and even though you never wear anything that shows it, I know you have a curved build just from seeing your arms, neck and shoulders. The fact that you can outrun and outlast anyone else other than Kazu also tells me that you're in really good shape, so you're probably very well toned as well. I don't need to actually see you to know what you look like…well…not mostly."

Seeing her face turn red, Takato flinched and looked away.

"I've never stalked you or anything, I've just drawn enough people that I can tell what someone looks like from looking at them and watching them."

"Takato…look, later maybe, but not right now ok? I can't really take this right now," Rika said shakily before pausing to pull herself back together.

She was thankful that Takato remained silent, but she wished he would take the initiative just once. If this was going to work, they each needed the other to help them.

"Look, I'm really not good with this…at all. As much as it hurts for me to admit this, I know that I need to, so here it goes."

Waiting for a minute, she made sure that she had his attention, and that he was looking at her before continuing.

"Takato…I'm…scared."

Seeing the panic on his face she immediately clarified her statement before he took it the wrong way.

"I don't know how to express what I feel because I honestly don't even know what I'm feeling most of the time. I know anger, I know sadness, and I know happy, but that's about it. I don't know anything else. I've kept everything bottled up for so long and forced everything that I could down to the point that I don't even know what anything else that I feel _is_."

"Then…Rika, why would you want me to…"

"Because…you're the one that got me this far in the first place," she admitted shyly.

"Huh?"

Chuckling, she shook her head.

"Takato, I used to burry everything I felt as far down as I could, everything except anger, I focused on anger and used it to keep everyone away from me so they couldn't hurt me. It wasn't until I ran across you that I learned how to express grief or joy. I knew what they were, and I knew what they felt like, but I had forgotten how to express them because it had been so long since I had."

She watched as Takato continued to absorb what she told him, silently listening to her every word.

"I might not know everything that I am feeling, but I know enough that…"

"Rika…"

"Takato, I need your help…I don't know…I…"

Her emotions were flaring again, and it was both confusing her and frightening for her. She knew _what_ she wanted, she knew _what_ she was feeling, she just didn't know how to express it, how to say it."

"_No no no no! I'm too close, I cant, I wont-"_

Feeling herself slipping back, she was snapped out of her thoughts by a shaking, but warm weight against her left shoulder.

Looking to up, she saw that Takato had moved and sat himself beside her. It wasn't unusual for them to sit beside each other, that was actually a common sight with the two of them. What _was_ different was the distance between them, Takato was sitting close enough to her that their shoulders were touching, and while it might not have seemed like much to most people, it was for her.

"I think…I think I know what you're trying to say," Takato said nervously before continuing.

"But…I don't know…I don't think that I'm…"

In her mind, he was trying to throw her a life line, and she was not going to pass it off, not right now.

"Takato…do you think…do you think that I'm…strong?"

Seeing his expression become incredulous she continued.

"I can face down any digimon, government goon, or person on this planet. I'm not afraid of anyone or anything I can see, touch, or fight…but this…Takato, I really am afraid of this…it's not something that can be fought or hurt with fists or words, its not an enemy I can kill, no matter how strong I get. You are a lot stronger than me when it comes to this…and…I'm asking for your help…you know how much I hate being afraid, you know how much I hate being weak…please, help me so I wont be anymore," she asked as she screwed her eyes shut and clinched her firsts.

"I…want to help you Rika…I really do, but…"

She could hear the honesty in his voice, and while it was strong, the fear and pain it carried were still stronger.

"_I keep giving up more and more for him, but he hasn't budged an inch, come on Takato, I can't do this on my own. I need you! Why can't you hear that?!"_

She was running out of time, she could almost see the door closing in front of her.

"_No, I'm not going to give this up, not as long as I'm still breathing! I might not know what I'm getting into, but I'll die protecting it!"_

Using the last ounce of fire she still had in her, she looked away from her friend.

"Takato…"

Thankful for the almost nonexistent distance between them, she moved her left hand just an inch over until it brushed his.

Taking a deep breath, she moved her hand over top his own, and then slipped it over the side.

"I want you…I want you to listen to me…very carefully…" she continued before swallowing.

Feeling him tense, she moved her hand forward, and then gently closed it around his larger hand.

"As long as I live, no matter what happens, no matter that you do, no matter where you go, I'll never stop…being your friend, no matter what."

Clinching her hand tighter, she continued.

"I'm not the best person out there, I know that, and I'm not exactly…much of a girl…but…everything I have…everything I can give you…is already yours, and has been for the last four years. My friendship, my trust, my support, my strength…and…"

Taking one last breath, she was only barely able to whisper the words, but they still passed from her lips.

"My heart."

Several seconds passed in complete silence, and Rika could feel herself starting to fall apart. As lame and cliché as it sounded, she literally felt like she didn't have an ounce of strength left in her.

Feeling her left hand turn slightly and the hand within it open then close around her own, she did nothing to stop the fire red blush from spreading across her face, nor did she try to wipe the lone tear that was making its way down the right side of her face.

Though he said no words, she heard him loud and clear.

* * *

End chapter eight

AN: Well, like I said, I know Takato kinda seems a bit wimpy now, but there is a reason for it. To him Rika is his absolute best friend, she is one of his greatest sources of strength and the mere thought of risking that is still very high on his mind. He might take a lot of stupid risks, but he's not the type to risk his friends regardless of what he might gain out of it. Rika has to break through that mindset before she can do anything else. And before anyone starts saying that it's a one way relationship with Takato drawing off of Rika, just wait and see for a little bit. Believe me when I say this, she needs him just as badly as he needs her, and I actually slipped a few tidbits of that in here.

That's pretty much a wrap up of this story, only one more chapter to go and it's more or less just me teasing you guys about the next fic. Expect it to be up…eventually. I have two small fics in mind before the big one, and a few more chapters to some of the others.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	9. Promise: For the Future

Promise: For the Future

AN: Ok, so here it is. The final chapter of the fic, though chapter eight was the true final chapter, this is a follow up of sorts. Just to be clear however, this chapter takes place three weeks after chapter eight, and yes there was quite a bit that happened during that time. Those events didn't fit with the theme of this story so they will be in a separate mini story of their own called 'Will You?'. I'll also be supplying a few last clues to the promises to the setting moon and rising sun here, lets see if you guys can figure them out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

* * *

Rika peeked over the edge of the notebook in her hands at the boy sitting in front of her with a raised eyebrow. Honestly, she couldn't blame him for being nervous; she just wished that he would stop fidgeting so much. She liked things to be calm whenever possible, especially when she was dealing with…difficulties like she was now.

Lowering her eyes back to the notebook she turned the page.

In the last few weeks they had managed to adjust somewhat to their new relationship, but things were still moving pretty slow. For the most part they continued to act the way they had back before drifting apart a year ago. They talked, joked, and hung out together with their friends. In short, they appeared to be two close friends and nothing more.

It was only in private, when it was just the two of them that they were any different, and even that was difficult to notice unless you were looking for it. They would sit a little closer than they would in the company of others, Rika was slightly more relaxed and Takato was just a bit calmer then normal.

The only ones who knew anything of the relationship were the two of them, their partners, her mother and grandmother, and Takato's parents. Takato had suggested telling the others, or at least Juri, but Rika had asked for just a little more time to find her feet with all of this. Takato only had limited experience with this, that was true, but it was all _very_ new to her.

The two teens were currently sitting on the floor of her room, or to be more accurate, _she_ was sitting while Takato stood and shifted from foot to foot scratching his ankles with his toes.

Last week, after their 'spar' Takato had admitted that he had in fact drawn her a few times, but the reason she hadn't seen any of those sketches was because he kept them in a separate sketchbook away from the others.

The sketchbook in her hands right now.

She guessed that it was caused by some sense of guilt stemming from the common knowledge of how she liked to maintain her privacy. In his mind, he had invaded that privacy by drawing her without her consent, so to make things right he gave it to her to look over and do with as she pleased.

This was the reason she had spent the last hour and a half going through the notebook while Takato awaited her judgment.

To be perfectly honest, she had been more than just a little upset with him when he told her about it. She didn't even like her picture being taken, so obviously the idea that someone had filled an entire notebook with sketches of her had rattled her cage so to speak. After flipping through the first few pages, she felt that oh so familiar pit in her stomach opening and a looming sense of dread beginning to build. In her hands was a book, not a small folder, but an entire sketchbook well over two hundred pages long, filled only with drawings of _her_.

As she had put it (in her mind) it was creepy.

She still thought it was to a degree, but it was bothering her less and less with each turned page. When he had told her about it and when he had first handed it to her all sorts of possibilities had been swimming through her head, none of which were good. She was a young girl and he was a teenage boy, so of course the first few thoughts that came to mind were at best her in some kind of skimpy bikini.

But to her surprise and very much to her delight not one of these thoughts had turned out to be true. None of the sketches were lewd, suggestive, or perverse in the least. They were just the opposite really.

A majority of the sketches were simple every day things, like her sitting in class, walking with their friends, or playing Digimon against some random person. There were even quite a few that included Renamon, usually but not always dealing with taming. There was one sketch in particular she had liked of her and Renamon leaning against a wall simply watching as the people around them went about there business, seemingly unaware of the tamer and digimon watching and protecting them in plain sight.

Remembering just how many sketchbooks he had filled with his drawings had also helped ease her fears a great deal, after all if he went through entire sketchbooks in a matter of months, one dedicated to her was on average a drawing every other week or so.

But she still didn't like it.

"_Who would have through that Takato had this much talent? Four years ago he couldn't even draw Calumon right, but now..."_

Looking closer at the sketch of Sakuyamon on the current page she actually found a few details she hadn't even noticed regarding her Biomerged form before.

"_How does he do this? I remember seeing him scribble in notebooks from time to time, but I never-"_ all conscious thought came to a screeching halt when she turned the page.

Nearly dropping the notebook from her hands, she shot a glare at the boy in front of her.

"Never stalk me huh? There where did this come from?!" she demanded turning the notebook towards the now shaking teen before her.

The drawing in question was the last one in the book, but compared to the previous ones it was also the most detailed, so much in fact that at first glance she had thought it to be a black and white photograph of her.

Its subject, like everything else in the sketchbook was herself. The problem however had to do with just how she was portrayed in it.

She was lying on her side with a small content smile facing whoever was looking at the image. One hand was underneath her pillow while the other was draped under her chin. There were two major details however she had noticed right off the bat, two things that were threatening to trigger her fight or flight response. The first was that her hair was down, spread out and almost framing her face. The second was that while everything below her shoulders was covered with a sheet, it was thin enough that it showed her basic outline from neck to foot in fine detail.

"Takato!? What the heck!? You're watching me in my sleep now?!"

"I, no, Rika, I just drew that like a week ago, I've been trying to get it out of my head since you spent the night but I just couldn't," he stammered trying to calm her down.

"Gogglehead, you know that I don't like-"

"I know, I know, you hate it when people invade your privacy, I know. That's why I wanted you to know about this…and to see it…I just…"

Shifting her eyes back to the picture, she felt her stomach tying itself into knots again.

"Rika, sometimes when I see something, I can't get it out of my head _unless_ I draw it. When you spent the night a few weeks ago I had to get some clothes so I could take a shower. I woke Renamon up so she would know I was in the room, and I swear it wasn't like I sat there and stared at you for an hour, I was only in there for a minute, two tops," Takato defended.

Narrowing her eyes, Rika wasn't sure if she should give him the benefit of the doubt, she trusted him a great deal, but this was pushing that trust rather far and she wanted to make sure.

"_I know he wouldn't lie…but…"_

"Renamon, could you come here for a second," Rika called out through the open doors that led to the back yard.

It was part of the agreement between their parents. In her home she was allowed more than just a modest amount of privacy, and under normal circumstances neither Seiko nor Rumiko would interrupt them so long as both sets of doors were kept open. The same was true if they were in Takato's room, as long as the door was kept open they were left alone.

In the back yard, Renamon and Guilmon were either playing tag or keep away, it was hard to tell sometimes but the yellow fox deftly leapt over her 'playmate' and landed on the porch before the two teens like it was an everyday thing.

Of course for her, it actually was.

"Yes Rika?" she asked, her voice as passive and neutral as ever.

Takato flinched when the vulpine warrior's gaze drifted to him. He knew she was on their side and a trusted friend, but there was something about her that he still feared even after all this time.

And something told him that she preferred it that way.

"When we were…hiding out at Takato's, did he come into the room when I was sleeping?" Rika asked, her eyes shifting from Takato to her partner and back again.

The fox digimon nodded before speaking.

"Yes, he entered the room very early holding a piece of cardboard with a message stating not to hurt him and that he only needed a minute to gather some clothes," Renamon answered with her monotone voice.

"And you didn't think it was a problem for him to come in there while I was sleeping?" she asked, annoyance clearly ringing in her voice.

"No, I did not. You have said yourself on several occasions that he can be trusted, and he has both been in your presence and seen you while you were asleep in the digital world. Since it had not been an issue in the past I had no reason to assume it would be at the time."

Takato swallowed nervously as the two continued. Renamon was facing the two of them and Rika was focused entirely on Renamon, so neither one saw Guilmon trying to sneak up on Renamon.

"_Oh boy, this is going to end bad I know it,"_ Takato cringed.

Rika sighed, and then looked back at Takato when it happened.

"I got you Renamon!" Guilmon shouted as he lunged for the 'unsuspecting' Renamon, who without missing a beat avoided the flying tackle by turning on one heel so that he went flying past her and landed between the two teens.

"Ough! Ouch," Guilmon whined from his new position on the floor.

"Not bad, but you still have a long way to go before you can sneak up on me," Renamon said dryly, though there was a teasing undertone to her voice.

To the surprise of everyone present, the red raptor's tail swung around and knocked Renamon off balance. She quickly pushed off the ground with one hand before she could fall on her back however and used the momentum to throw herself back into the yard.

"Ah ah ah, better, but still not good enough," she chimed as Guilmon got up and charged her again.

Rika watched the two for a minute before shaking her head and groaning.

"Look, Rika, I'm sorry if I did anything that offended you or made you uncomfortable, I honestly didn't mean to. I'm just so used to drawing anything that pops into my head now that its second nature to me. If you want you can burn the book, I'll swear never to draw you again, just…"

"Stop, stop, just…stop ok? I know what you're trying to do, but…ugh, I hate this," her voice was low, and the second half of her statement was muttered under her breath but Takato still heard it.

"I don't…I don't like being…I'm not my mother ok, I'm not a model and I never will be. I don't want to stand in front of a camera for hours on end just so anyone that wants to fork over five hundred yen can gawk at me whenever they want. I'm not some kind of prop or toy for other people's amusement," she growled.

Waiting for her to finish, Takato felt his chest clench when he saw a tremor pass through her.

"_Ok, there's something else going on here I don't know about. Why is she so touchy about this? I know she likes her privacy, but this is just…weird."_

"I'm not…"

"_It has to be something related to her mother, but…"_

Now, Takato wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, but he was far from dumb, and when it came to his friends he could be surprisingly quick at figuring things out.

Especially when it was something troubling or hurting them.

"Rika…you know that I don't show my work to just anybody right?"

He waited until he could see her looking up at him before continuing.

"You're the only person who's ever seen the notebook, not even my parents have. And I promise you that while I might go back and look at them from time to time, I have never once 'gawked' at them."

The girl sighed and shook her head.

"Look, Takato, you just don't get it…I don't like…I don't get how my mom can just…do what she does, I hate it."

Takato could tell she wanted to say more, but was either unsure of how or just didn't feel comfortable enough to do so. So, not wanting things to degenerate further he drew from his own experience as an artist and tried to reach out to her.

"Rika, your mother is a model because she wants to be, not because she has to be. In her mind she's an artist, and her body is her art. She's just showing off her work because she's proud of it, same as any other artist, there's nothing wrong with that. And there is a big difference between someone doing a few sketches of a friend and someone being on a bunch of magazine covers."

"Tak-"

"Let me finish, believe it or not, I actually have a pretty good idea of what's going through your head with this."

Rika averted her eyes from him, but nodded that he could continue.

"In your mind, you think that a model is 'selling themselves' when they have their pictures printed. In some ways that is true, but your focusing on the pictures being _of _them. To a model it's that the picture is _by _them, people are paying to see what they have done to themselves. You're not seeing it from the artist's perspective, just the observers."

"What I _see_ is what is there," she growled back.

"Rika, do you have any idea how much work goes into modeling? It can take hours just to get one photo, trust me I know. It took me a month to do one sketch of the sun rise because I only had a few minutes to put down what I could see at a time."

"It's modeling Gogglehead, they stand in front of a camera and they take pictures, end of story."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Takato groaned.

"Yeah, if everything works out exactly right, nothing goes wrong, and the people there know what they are doing. That's not always the case though, in fact it rarely is. I think sketching and painting is a lot easier than photography, that's half the reason I didn't try getting into it."

Seeing a thin red eyebrow raise, Takato clarified.

"With drawing, you can use creative licensing; you don't have to be completely true to your subject. You can make it look however you want and can fix little problems without having to change what you're working on. But when you're using a camera you have to make sure everything is perfect before taking your shot. If the wind blows, it messes up the models hair, if clouds come out, you don't have the right lighting, the list goes on and on. Ever notice how skinny most photographers are? It's probably because they're always so frustrated and wound up from everything going wrong that they never eat."

He could see that Rika was at least considering what he was saying, so he continued.

"When you put a piece of yourself into your work, you want it to be appreciated. The more work you put into it and the more that it takes to get it done the stronger that desire gets. Aren't you proud of how strong Renamon is? Don't you get a sense of satisfaction when you see your trophies and awards from tournaments?"

After a few moments of silence passed, Rika got up and moved towards her dresser.

"I…can see the point you're trying to make…but I don't think you're getting mine," she stated tiredly.

"Huh?"

"Remember how I told you that one of the main reasons I…picked you was because I trust you?" she asked as she started digging through one of the drawers.

Feeling like he had been put on the spot, Takato coughed into his hand.

"Uh, yeah…I mean, yes, I remember."

"Well, this is one of the other main reasons Takato, THINK FAST!"

Before he could even blink, Takato saw Rika pivot and snap her wrist.

Acting purely out of instinct he snatched the item she had thrown before it could hit him.

"Rika, what on earth are you-"

"Tell me, what are you holding? She asked calmly.

Takato was surprised to see her actually close her eyes and lean against her dresser, apparently waiting for his answer.

Looking down at the item in his hand, it didn't even take him a second to figure out what it was.

"Uh, it's a fan…I think."

Rika slowly nodded her head.

"Good, now tell me, how do you use it?" she asked opening her eyes and focusing intently on him.

Confused by her question, he slid open the fan with one hand and started fanning himself.

"Like this, usually on a hot day," he answered sarcastically.

Pushing off from her dresser, he watched as she quickly made her way over to him and snatched the fan from his hands.

"You didn't even look at it did you?"

Now he was even more confused. He wasn't completely sure, but he could have sworn that she had a small smile on her face when she took it from him. Now standing about two feet away from him, she snapped the fan open and held it out so he could get a good look at it.

He _had_ been right, it _was_ a fan, but now that he was getting a closer look at it he could see that it was anything but a simple one.

From what he could tell, it was made of black stained wood and had been polished to the point that it reflected light almost as if it were water. He could also see that the entire fan was actually made of wooden slats connected at the base rather than simply having a wooden frame with stitched cloth in the center of it.

What really caught his attention however was the design painted into fan. A white nine tailed fox with gold leaf embroidering. It looked a lot like Kyubimon, but there were just as many differences as similarities.

"You're right, it is a fan, but the way I was taught to use it was lot differently than you were apparently," she said with a slightly bitter tone.

That caught his attention. The way her voice had edged when she said 'taught' and the way her eyes narrowed pointed more towards pain than anger.

Curious as to what she meant, and still wanting to know why she had such a disdain for being in art of any sort he rolled with what he was given.

"How were you taught to use it?" he asked carefully.

Rika's head snapped up, her gaze meeting his. Even though her face was as impassive as always her eyes were another story, as he could see a swirling living flame churning deep within.

Her face was almost always a stone wall, but her eyes had always been an open window. He had long ago guessed that was the reason she always radiated her anger and frustration, to make it nearly impossible for anyone to see the real her. As the years passed and they became closer friends however this had less and less of an effect on him, to the point where it was now more of a welcoming and comforting warmth than a searing burn flame.

Unless she was directly angry at him, with him, or something he had done.

Right now however that wasn't the case. He knew she was letting him see as much as she will willing to show him and even then some, but as deep as he could see now he knew that it was barely a fraction of what was there.

"_She's…hurting…no, the memory is hurting her…but why?"_

After allowing him a few seconds to 'see' her she broke her gaze and moved a few feet away from him.

Curious to see what she would do since she had moved _away _from her dresser, he was surprised to see her lower both of her arms to her sides and close her eyes.

After a few moments of silence, she slowly moved her right arm up and out in front of her. The moment her arm stopped her right leg moved outwards and she slowly moved into a crouch then pivoted at the halfway point putting all of her weight on her right leg. From there she reverse pivoted and lowered her left arm while raising her right at the same time.

Takato watched in silent awe the sight before him. He had through Rika was cute back when they were kids and that had developed over the years, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined her doing anything like this.

With fluid grace she turned on her left foot using only her toes and swept her right arm out from behind her, snapping open the fan with what looked like a single continuous motion.

It seemed like whenever one part of her would stop another would start without a seconds delay.

He watched as she moved at a continuous pace, slow enough that he could see every part of the motion but fast enough that it still took some effort to follow. As far as he could tell, there was no pattern to the movements, nor was there any sense to them, it was wild, random almost, but at the same time it looked perfectly controlled, fluid even. The only thing he could compare it to was a dancing and flickering flame, but even that failed to do justice for the sight before him.

Moving on the back of her left heel, she turned to face him before bringing both legs together and standing straight. Her left arm still clutching the fan twisted, flicking the fan over the back of her shoulder and fell into open her right hand that she had moved behind her without his noticing. With the same motion she brought her right arm out in front of her and snapped the fan around her wrist causing it to rotate around her arm and then back into her open palm.

With one last motion she snapped the fan shut, lowered her arm back to her side and for several long seconds remained completely still.

Pretty sure that his mouth was hanging open, it took Takato several seconds to notice the expression on Rika's face. It wasn't anger, but somewhere between disappointment and hurt.

"Rika…where did you…wow, I mean, that was…that was amazing, where did you learn that?" he asked as she brushed past him without as much as a word.

"Uh…Rika, what's wrong?"

"Which was better? Your way, or mine?" she asked coldly.

"What do you mean which way was better? If you mean the fan thing, yours beats anything I can do, I mean seriously, how did you-"

"I prefer your way," she replied cutting him off from continuing.

"Eh?"

He was surprised to see her turn and face him with a cold, almost blank expression similar to the way she looked back when they first met.

Just without the anger.

"_What is going on with her? She was fine until a minute ago, what's going on here?"_

Thinking over his words carefully, Takato tried to figure out what he had missed.

"Was…I right, or was I wrong…you know, about how to use a fan?"

Looking off to the side Rika shrugged her shoulders.

"Depends on who you ask."

"_Ooook that's about as clear as mud…unless,"_ still not exactly sure what the problem was or what he was getting into, he tried again.

"What if I asked you?" he prodded carefully.

Her expression changed, but only for a second.

"I would say, that you were the one who used it the right way," she replied bluntly.

"_What am I missing here? I know that she's trying to tell me something…but what?"_

Running their conversation over in his head a few times, he was still trying to figure out how they had gone from talking about art to how a fan was apparently holding the secret to the meaning of life when a set of heavy footsteps caught his attention.

"Takatomon I'm tired," Guilmon whined as he shuffled in through the open door.

"Ah!! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Takato shouted with a start.

Despite being tired, Guilmon perked up at hearing that.

"Yay! Did you hear that Renamon? I sneaked up on Takatomon!"

The yellow fox appeared beside her tamer with both arms crossed shaking her head.

"A marching band could sneak up on your tamer without him knowing."

While he appreciated the fact that Renamon's barb at him made Rika cut a smirk, he wasn't about to let her get away with an insult like that.

"This coming from a bright _yellow_ ninja? How on earth can you sneak up on anyone when your fur is bright enough to be seen from orbit?" he shot back.

Both Rika and Renamon raised an eyebrow at that one; at least for the instant he could see Renamon before she vanished into thin air.

"Because I'm good at it," she whispered into his ear.

"DAH! How do you do that!?" Takato demanded before turning to knock the fox off of him only to find that she was no longer there.

"How I am able to sneak up on you is as simple as it should be obvious," she said, once again from behind him and again disappearing before he could turn to face her.

"Obvious? How can something be obvious if it can't be seen?" he challenged.

"Tell me, _boy_, does something have to be visible to be understandable? Can something be understood even if it can't be touched?" Renamon asked, this time her voice coming from different directions.

Turning to face Rika, Takato scowled.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

Rika's smirk was still in place, though it was smaller than usual.

"Just a little," she told him before something hard and fast slammed into him from behind knocking him forward.

"Hey, what's the big idea with attacking me? I didn't do anything!"

"Did you hear me say Power Paw or Diamond Storm? Trust me, if I were to actually attack you, you would have been knocked down, not off balance, and you most likely would not have been able to get back up," Renamon replied matter of factly.

"Well _excuse_ me, but I happen to call nailing someone in the back _attacking_," Takato growled as he winced from the pain shooting up his back.

The last hour had been by far one of the most random he had even been through in his life. He was still trying to figure out what was going on when he was struck from behind a second time.

"Well then, your definition of attack and mine are vastly different. But you still haven't answered my question."

Starting to feel like a human bowling pin, Takato barely pulled himself together before he was stuck from behind again, this time he _was_ knocked to the floor, and held in place by a large foot in the middle of his back.

"Listen, and listen well _human_, the way something looks has little to _nothing_ to do with what it is or what it can do. Remember that," Renamon whispered into his ear before pushing down on his back once more for good measure.

"Takatomon…I think you lost," Guilmon said from somewhere off to his side.

Looking up, Takato saw that Rika's expression had dropped further than it had been before and was borderline blank again.

"_Why didn't she do anything to stop Renamon from-"_

"Is everything alright in here? I heard shouting and a loud thump on my way here…Takato, why are you on the floor?" Rumiko asked stepping into her daughter's room with a small tray of food.

"Yay! Dinner time!" Guilmon cried as he quickly got up and zipped to the older woman's side.

"Wow, he sure can recover fast when he wants to," Takato muttered as he pushed himself up from the hard wood floor.

"I'll leave this here, let me know if you need anything else…and Rika, remember to be nice to your guests," Rumiko said with a mock warning tone as she left the room.

"Come on Gogglehead, before the crimson stomach eats it all," Rika said as she offered Takato a hand up.

"Uh…thanks Rika…"

Surprised that she simply walked over to the small table without saying a word, Takato groaned as he followed.

The 'dinner' was eaten in relative silence. Rika had only nibbled at her plate not even finishing it, Renamon herself only ate a little. He didn't know why, but it made him feel guilty, he was hungry enough that he feared his stomach was gnawing on his spine, but he couldn't bring himself to eat anything.

Guilmon of course had no qualms with eating the rest of the 'dinner' on his own.

Glancing over his shoulder Takato frowned as he saw the sun starting to set.

"_Man this tanks. Not even two weeks into this and I know she's going to dump me. Stupid Takato, stupid! Why did I even bother-"_

Feeling a phantom squeeze around his hand, Takato sighed.

"_Because she…needed…and wanted me too…dang it, why do I keep screwing up everything? Maybe I should just go live in a mud hut somewhere up in the mountains, at least then I won't mess anything else up."_

Having finished the meal, the group sat in an awkward silence. At least it was awkward for Takato. Rika and Renamon seemed almost at home in the quiet, and Guilmon had fallen asleep from his miniature feast soon after having finished it.

Taking the opportunity to look around from where he was sitting Takato tried to absorb every detail about his friend's room that he could. This was only the fourth time he had ever been in it before, and the previous three times hadn't exactly been ideal for making observations.

Not that this was the most ideal of opportunities either.

The first thing he noticed was the distinct lack of decorations or much of anything really. The walls were almost completely bare excluding a few pictures, one poster, and a shelf that held her trophies and ribbons from Digimon tournaments.

"_That's weird; I would have thought there would be…something at least. I know she listens to a lot of music, why doesn't she at least have a couple of band posters up?"_

It was like the room was hollow, empty even. The only furniture aside from her futon and dresser was the small table they had eaten at, though it looked more like a deck building table than anything used for company.

"Enjoying the sights gogglehead?" Rika asked suddenly.

Turning his attention back on her, he saw that she was resting on her side holding up her head with one arm propped under her.

And that she was looking out towards the sun set, not at him.

"How did you know I was-"

"Looking around? Not much else to do, besides, I think it's natural for people to do that when they're somewhere they haven't been often," she replied coolly.

Takato's frown deepened at her tone. The disappointment was clear enough that it could have passed for glass.

"You should probably start heading back, it's a long walk from here," she added.

Rising from where he was sitting, Takato saw the notebook that had started it all and went to pick it up before deciding not too.

"It's yours, take it."

"Rika…look, whatever it is I said, I'm sorry-"

"You don't need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong, just…take the notebook, I don't want it, and I don't have any use for it."

"_Come on Takato, think, you've got to salvage this while you still can. Don't let this turn into what happened with Jeri!"_

Running down his short list of options, Takato picked up the notebook and his school backpack, but as he started for the door an idea struck him.

"Hey Rika, would you mind…I mean, would it be ok if you...walked me back?"

Seeing the slow raise of her eyebrow, Takato waited to see if she would take the bait.

"What are you, scared of the dark or something?"

"_Wow, I didn't see that one coming. I thought for sure she would have said 'that's the guys job' or something like that…but I can work with this."_

Giving a small grin, Takato stuck his nose into the air before replying.

"Not since I was eight thank you very much. I haven't needed a nightlight in almost seven years."

Had it been a cartoon, he would have heard crickets chirping.

"_Ok, that didn't go as well as I thought, time for plan B."_

"I just…wanted to spend a little more time with you is all. We see each other plenty but it's never when we can just relax you know?"

When several seconds passed with no response, he was ready to just leave when he heard her push herself up.

"Mom, I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back in a little while!"

"Ok, be careful sweetie!" Rumiko shouted back from the main house.

Takato flinched at the word 'sweetie' but noticed a complete and total lack of any reaction on Rika's part.

Taking up his blue jacket and zipping it up, he went to wake his partner for the long, and expected to be silent walk home.

"Come on buddy, rise and shine, we've got to get back home before mom calls the police…again," he muttered the last part under his breath.

"You ready or what gogglehead?" Rika called out as she shut the doors leading to the main house and moved towards the doors to the back yard.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, hold your horses, I can only move so fast," Takato complained as he and his still groggy partner began moving towards the exit.

* * *

Fifteen minutes into their walk and just as he had predicted it was dead silent, which was weird considering the fact they were in the middle of Shinjuku one of the busiest and loudest districts in all of Japan. The bubble of silence enveloping them seemed to absorb all ambient noise from the city itself.

"_Great, can this day get any…no, I'm not even going to finish that one because I know it probably somehow could, and if I said that it actually would."_

Looking around for something, anything to break the silence with Takato focused on Rika.

"Hey, uh, that's a nice jacket you've got…I like it," even as the words left his mouth he could feel his I.Q. dropping.

"_I like your jacket? Dude, that is the LAMEST line I have ever heard, and that's a lot coming from me,"_ 'Kazu' said with a face palm.

"Thanks."

"_Wow…she…actually responded to that?"_ Both Takato and 'Kazu' thought/said at the same time.

"Is it new?" he asked, trying to keep her talking.

"Does it look like its new?" she asked back.

"I…don't know, I can't really see it that-"

"_Dude, she just got you BAD, you walked right into that!"_

"Sorry," Takato apologized as he quickly lowered his eyes to the sidewalk.

"Don't, you didn't do anything wrong," she replied calmly.

Something in her tone caught his attention. It wasn't anything major, but there was a tiny hint of something. What it was however, he didn't have a clue.

"Why do you say that?"

He was surprised to see her look over her shoulder at him before responding.

"Because, you told the truth. You shouldn't have to apologize for being honest…and…I like this jacket too…it's one of my favorites," she replied looking back ahead of them.

"_Ok, hold up, what is going on here? Did I miss something?"_ Takato thought, now even more confused.

Increasing his pace so he could catch up to her, Takato remained silent for a few minutes, simply taking in what he could of the evening.

"_She looks…almost happy…well, content at least…I wonder why? I know she hates the cold, and she's probably still angry with me…so…what gives?"_

"_Maybe she enjoys the night? When we first started out we always met during the middle of the night,"_ 'Henry' offered.

"_Yeah, a total vampire that one, she probably sleeps hanging upside down in a cave somewhere,"_ 'Kazu added.

"_Kazu, shut up, she's not that bad. But I think you're right, she probably is a night person,"_ Takato thought to himself before deciding to test his theory out.

"Say uh…Rika, which do you like better, sunrise or sunset?" Takato asked as innocently as he could.

"Sunset," Rika replied instantly.

"Really? Why?"

His temporary traveling companion shot him a look.

"Why's it matter?"

"_Ok, she's on to us, be careful dude,"_ 'Kazu' warned.

"It doesn't…I was just curious. You seem more like a sunrise person to me," Takato replied, once again trying to keep the conversation alive.

"Just because I'm a redhead doesn't mean I-"

"No no no, not because of that, you just seem more…I don't know, you seem more comfortable in the mornings than any other time of the day at school is all."

He could see her mulling his statement over, though he couldn't tell if she was analyzing it or trying to think of an answer for it.

"It's not because its morning, it's because it's closer to the night than the middle of the day is," she finally replied.

Furrowing his brow, Takato tried to make heads or tails out of what she said.

"So…what you're saying is…that you like the night time? So you're a night owl?" he guessed.

"Close…I just…prefer the dark…I like nighttime better than the day time, but I don't necessarily stay up late," she clarified.

"_Huh…that's…weird…"_

"Not that I'm trying to pry or anything, but…why?" Takato asked, finding that every answer he had gotten in the last few hours had only made him more confused, he was trying to find familiar ground again.

"Because…things are more…everything is easier to see at night than it is during the day," she answered.

Scrunching up his face, he looked back over at her to see if she was joking around with him. He knew she had a sense of humor, but this really wasn't her style. She preferred to lead people on or make them think something that was known to be false and see how long it took before they realized she was toying with them.

"_She seems to be telling the truth…sorry Takato, I can't help you out with this one, you're on your own," _'Henry' replied with a shrug.

"_Don't even think about asking me, you lost me back when Renamon made you into a floor ornament,"_ 'Kazu' replied.

"Uh, could you explain that a little better? You kinda lost me there," Takato asked trying to avoid scratching the back of his head.

He could hear Rika's breathing get deeper for a few seconds and noticed her demeanor change, almost like she was unsure about something.

"I…it's…complicated...the only way I can explain it is that things…don't hide at night…things are more…honest than they are during the day," she explained slowly.

"_Henry! Help!"_ Takato shouted mentally before speaking.

"I'm sorry Rika but I just don't get it. I know you're not a vampire or anything like that, so I know you don't have night vision, come on cant you give me a clue here?" Takato asked trying not to come across too whiny.

"Ugh, same gogglehead I swear," she muttered before continuing. "Everything is more honest at night because it doesn't have to hide what it really is. When you see something at night, you're seeing it for what it really is, not what it tries to be, not what it wants to be, not what it wants you to see, you see exactly what it is," she replied with an edged undertone.

"_Wow, ok, don't do that again sheesh. Now think, what does she mean by things are more honest at night? If anything that's an oxymoron. People and animals are at their worst at night, that's when most crimes…oh…OHH!"_

"I think I get it now…"

To his surprise, Rika stopped dead in her tracks.

"Really? Then tell me."

Takato gulped. Her tone hadn't been 'forceful' but it had been extremely serious, enough that he was now reconsidering his answer.

"What you're saying is…that at night, it's easy to hide your face…so its easy to do what you want…and be who you really are…right?"

He couldn't see her expression, but he was able to see her nod in affirmation before she resumed walking.

Frowning, Takato caught up to her and made sure to close the distance between them.

"I get it, but I don't agree with it."

Rika turned to glare at him, but he ignored it.

"Only showing your true colors at night is cowardly, and it cheapens who you are," he continued well aware that he was now treading 'shark infested' waters.

"People might be more honest and do what they want, but I don't think its right for them to," pausing for a moment, he tried to find something that would help him get his point across, and smiled when he remembered an old story he had heard when he was very little.

"If the worlds prettiest flower only bloomed at night, who would ever see it? I mean, sure, you could tell the basic shape, but how would you know it was the prettiest? It might not be, it could be mud brown, or it might be completely black, there's no way to tell how beautiful it looks unless you can see it with enough light," Takato explained.

He could tell that despite her growing aggravations, Rika was at least listening to him, he knew for a fact when she countered him.

"What if it can't bloom when there is too much light? What if the light hurt it, of even killed it? Which is harder to appreciate, a flower you can barely see, or a dead one?"

That made Takato stop in his tracks.

"_She…has a point…I never thought of it that way…but still,"_ shaking his head, he again caught up to the rest of the group. He wasn't ready to let this drop, not by a long shot.

"Then cut a flashlight on and look at it until you know for sure it's the prettiest," Takato answered with a small grin.

"If light hurts it, all you've done is hurt the plant. Your own curiosity might be sated, but you did so at the expense of causing it pain. That's even worst than killing it, at least then it doesn't feel anything," Rika returned without giving him a chance to enjoy his short victory.

"_Dang, how deep does her pessimism run?" _

Renamon watched and listened to the two humans silently. She and Guilmon had been walking to the sides of their tamers the entire time, but the two teens seemed to have forgotten they were even there and were focused on their conversation.

"_I have to give him credit, the boy is creative, but this is not a battle he can win, even if he manages to find a response that can't be countered,"_ the vulpine warrior thought shaking her head as she listened to them continue.

Glancing over a Guilmon she saw that the red raptor was awake enough to move and follow the group, but all 'higher' brain functions were still in sleep mode. This was not for the first time Renamon found herself slightly jealous of his ability to 'shut off' his brain at will and she doubted it would be the last. If it was true that ignorance was bliss, then Guilmon could make himself happy whenever he wanted using that trick.

Turning her attention back to the two humans, she found herself being drawn more and more into their conversation. It was painfully obvious that Takato had missed the entire point of what Rika was trying to tell him, but he was putting up a good argument nonetheless.

"_Rika tried to tell him back at her home, I tried to tell him and she's trying to tell him again. How obvious does she have to make it for him to get it?"_

Renamon, for all her complicated scruples was actually fairly simple. Her desire for Rika to be happy was very powerful; in fact it was one of the strongest motivating forces in all her actions. The only thing that came before Rika's happiness was her safety, and it was exceedingly rare for those two forces to ever come into conflict.

Still, as much as she wanted for Rika to be happy she was not going to help Takato any more than she had already. She was still learning a great deal about humans, but one thing she knew for certain was that Rika was not like most, she was very unique even by human standards. If she had determined that Takato was the one she wished to open herself up to, then the boy had to learn how to get her too as much on his own as possible.

Casting a sideways glance at the two, she could see traces of frustration and annoyance flashing across Rika's visage from the streetlights soft glow.

Shifting her eye towards Takato, she could see that he was aware of the fact that something was up regarding this conversation, just not what exactly.

Then, she saw it.

A flash of annoyance. It was brief, not even lasting the full blink of an eye but it had been there. Not simple 'the drink machine just took my money' annoyance, but genuine aggravation borderline exasperation.

"_Ah, so he does know. Interesting, very interesting indeed,"_ she thought processing what she had just now learned about the tamer's leader. Not only was Takato far smarter than other people gave him credit for, but he was actually smarter than he generally let on.

"_But if that's the case, for what reason would he hide it?"_

It was rare for him to ever do anything 'exceedingly' stupid, but from time to time he would do things most others know better.

"_So, if he knows what Rika's point is, then why is he continuing with this conversation?"_

"Gogglehead, are you even listening to me?" Rika growled shaking her head.

"Uhh…yeah, I think I am, I mean, it would be kinda hard to talk to you if I didn't," Takato defended.

"Ugh, you just don't get it do you?"

Renamon narrowed her eyes as the conversation became increasingly hostile.

"_If he isn't careful he'll trip her temper off again,"_ Renamon thought before almost stopping in her tracks.

"If you were _listening _then we wouldn't be having this conversation," Rika whispered clenching her fists.

"…Rika, you lost me," Takato sighed slumping his head.

The next thing the boy knew he was being shoved against the side of the building they were walking past.

Eyes wide he looked down to see that Rika was holding him by the shoulders and wearing a face that could kill.

"_Ok, looks like that worked…a little too well,"_ he thought with a gulp.

"I swear sometimes you just….ugh! How can you be so dense! Look, I'll spell it out for you with small words ok? I like the night better _because I can be who I am and not worry about other people knowing,_" her voice grew tighter and became more of a horse whisper by the time she was finished, but she still hadn't let go of Takato's shoulders.

"_That should knock a few cobwebs loose,"_ Rika thought scowling at just how clueless her friend still was.

"But…Rika, if you do that…then what's the point?" Takato asked carefully.

"Wha-"

"People who only show their true selves when they can't be seen or recognized are _still_ hiding who and what they really are."

"_He…he knew? All this time?"_

Releasing her hold on Takato, she took several steps back from him.

"Rika, you shouldn't have to hide who or what you are _ever_. I _know you_. You might keep a lot of things hidden and buried away from others, but I know for a fact you don't care what other people think _at all_. What's the point in hiding who you really are if you don't care what other people think or say?"

For the first time since she could remember, Renamon had to fight the urge to let her mouth drop.

"_He…I don't believe it. He both acknowledged and dismissed Rika's fears while at the same time encouraged her not to change in the slightest."_

Impressed by the young boys ability to understand others and his skill at maneuvering things until they were in his favor, Renamon was forced to think back on other times where he had 'bumbled' his way into success without even knowing it.

"_But how often is it on purpose and how often is it a genuine accident?"_

Pondering the matter for a few moments, she began to see and understand the possible reason for Takato's acting.

Just as Rika had her anger and would push away others to prevent them from hurting her, Takato had his antics and 'dumbness' to keep people's expectations of him low to make it difficult for him to disappoint them. If he 'got it right' it was a lucky break. If he got it wrong, it was simple put off as him being a gogglehead.

"_So, he has a defense mechanism almost as effective as Rika's. They have completely different functions and were designed for completely different reasons, but they serve almost identical purposes. Rika pushes others away so they can't hurt her, while Takato keeps people from putting but so much trust in him so he doesn't let them down,"_ Renamon realized while only halfway paying attention to the conversation between the two teens.

"_He must have…it must have been back when the others first started working together. Takato was afraid that if they put all their faith in him that he would let them all down. By having them think he was not as intelligent as he really was they would always at least partially think for themselves by expecting a certain margin of failure from him."_

This new realization both surprised and disappointed her however as it meant that Takato and Rika had far more in common then she or anyone else realized, and it wasn't in the positive sense.

"_They both hide their true selves from everyone around them. Rika only allows Takato small glances of her true self when they are completely alone and Takato hides his true self out in the open by playing the part of the fool."_

"Where did…how…did you get that out of a fortune cookie or something?" Rika asked while she tried (and failed) to gather her wits about her.

Takato chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Actually I read it in a self help book awhile back…but that doesn't change the fact that its right…err…right?"

Rika shook her head before turning to continue towards her friend's house with the others in tow.

"Ga…Takato…I…it's been so long since I…I don't think _I_ even know who I really am," she admitted weakly.

The two remained silent for several minutes until Takato clicked his tongue.

"I…think…that you are a cool tomboy…whose harder than rock and sharper than a sword, with an attitude like a snakes and a heart bigger than she is," Takato said looking the other way.

Rika's face turned a shade that put her hair to shame before looking the other way and snorting.

"Is that all I am? The tough girl with a big sister complex?"

Renamon was almost able to hear the boy's heart beat at this point.

"No…I think you're the…pretty girl with a mean left hook, that also happens to be the best friend anyone could hope for," Takato replied doing his best to keep his voice even.

It took everything Renamon had not to growl as she clenched her teeth. It wasn't that she was angered by the exchange between the two teens, far from it. What angered her was the way it was playing out, and her knowing the exact reason it was doing so.

Rika's tough 'shell' was the result of her father leaving her family at a young age. Because of it not only did she have difficulty letting people in, but others had to be very careful when trying to give her emotional support.

And Takato _knew_ it.

She could hear it in his voice, see it in his movements, and feel it from his very being every time he was around Rika. It had been there for as long as she could remember and she had hated it for just as long. He wanted to help her, he wanted to give Rika whatever strength he could. But because of the damage caused by her father's actions it was difficult for Rika to take help when it was being offered.

So not only had her father directly hurt her mentally and emotionally, but he had made it extremely difficult for others to help repair her.

After Takato's clarification, the two cast a single glance to the other before looking away.

The remainder of the journey was passed in silence. Neither Takato nor Rika said anything else until they reached the Matsuki bakery, but Renamon noticed that they were walking slightly closer to one another than they had been before, and their hands grazed a few times. They never touched for long, just a fleeting moment, but it was still contact.

"Well…this is my place…uhh…see you tomorrow?" Takato offered nervously.

Rika shrugged.

"Not much of a choice, we have most of the same classes don't we?" she replied coolly.

Takato had a tiny smile on his face as he nodded before turning to leave.

Renamon glanced back over at her partner as they made their way home. She could tell by her stiff posture that the girl had many things on her mind, but her 'feel' was neutral leaning more towards the positive.

"_He has a long road ahead of him, but as long as he…no…no, I know he will keep trying no matter what. As long as he breaths he will fight to help her…both of them will."_

Looking up at the night sky, Renamon closed her eyes as a tiny smile spread across her muzzle.

* * *

_Flashback_

Every inch of her body felt like it was on fire. She knew that Rika had cared deeply for her friends but even she had never guessed how deep and how powerful those emotions ran.

"_When she thought Stingmon was going for the killing blow, her rage…Kami I've never felt such anger from her before,"_ Renamon thought as she strained to push herself up.

The power feedback from Rika's emotions was still affecting her, still playing havoc with her senses and muscles, but it took only an instant for her to realize two things. First was that it was raining, and second was that Rika was not beside her.

"_Rika…where."_

Even though she was tired and extremely sore, Renamon was able to lift up her face from the cold wet ground and scan the area, only to see the last thing she would ever want to see.

Rika, several yards away from her dangling from a Stingmon's grip.

"_Rika! No!"_

Simply trying to blink felt like she was pushing a mountain, but she had to at least try to help her tamer.

"You should have left when you had the chance Sir Knight. If you had, none of this would have happened!" The Stingmon shouted as it threw back its free arm.

"_NO! RIKA, WAKE UP! MOVE MOVE NOW!"_

"Spiking Strike!"

The moment she saw the purple blade of energy extend from Stingmon's free hand, Renamon felt her heart stop.

"_No, not again, I can't allow this to happen again!"_

The pounding rain and booming thunder were suddenly dwarfed by what she could only call a massive eruption of power.

"**RIKA!"**

Renamon felt every last strand of fur from the tip of her muzzle to the end of her tail stand on end as a terrifying roar filled the night. Not even the loud clapping of thunder crashing overhead, thunder that was nearly deafening had been able to block out the horrid and terrifying sound.

It was a roar she had heard only twice in her life time, and neither had been a pleasant memory.

"_No…impossible…not here…not now."_

A flash of lightning blinded her momentarily, but the instant it passed she could feel her blood turning into ice.

Lying perfectly still only feet away from her was Rika, no trace of either Gallantmon or Stingmon. All thoughts of Stingmon or the source of the howling roar were forgotten as adrenalin surged through her body. Forcing herself up on her hands and knees, she threw herself and lunged for her tamer.

"_No, no, please don't let this be happening again,"_ ran through Renamon's mind over and over as she lowered her face next to pale teens and placed one of her front paws on her chest.

Though it was faint, she could feel the young girl's chest rise and then fall steadily.

"_She's still breathing, but it's so shallow…she needs help, where is Takato?"_

Raising her head, Renamon found who she was looking for.

And so much more.

Several yards away from them stood something that could only be described as a scene ripped straight from a nightmare.

Holding Rika's would be killer in one hand was the familiar figure of Gallantmon.

Or at least that's what it _had been_.

Protruding from his back was a large pair of bat like wings, each of which was extending well over fifteen feet in length. Her eyes were then drawn to the long whip like tail moving like an angry serpent behind him. Both of these however were dwarfed by the massive glowing red cloud that was radiating from his body. Even at this distance she could sense the nature of the data cloud and for the second time in only a matter of moments she felt true fear.

"_That… data…it's the same…it's the same as before, if he can't get it under control I'll be deleted in seconds!"_

Narrowing her eyes to focus on the nightmare before her she saw that neither the tail nor the wings were actually solid as they passed straight through several tree's as the moved about. That was a good sign in her mind, it meant that there was still time.

"_But, if he hasn't…Takato, what did you do?"_

"**Don't you DARE touch her!"**

The sheer power behind his voice had knocked the wind out of her lungs and pressed down on her almost as though it were a physical force.

"_He's releasing more…NO!"_

"**How does it feel to have you life in someone else's hands? Well?"**

Renamon watched in grim fascination as the Stingmon caught in his hand began to fade, its green exoskeleton turning grey and the red lights of his eyes fading to almost nothing.

"_If I don't hurry he'll-"_ shuddering as memories from many years ago threatened to surface, Renamon hoped that whoever was in control now still recognize her voice.

"Takato! That's enough!" she called out, hoping that she had gotten though to someone in the knights head.

In a flash of lightning, she saw the tall armored figure look over its shoulder at her and she flinched. As dark as it was, the lightning gave more than enough light that she could see what was before her.

The body, the helmet, even the voice, they were all the same, but at the same time they weren't.

In place of what had been a bright white helmet and red crest was a cold grey one with a dark blue crest, where had once been gold outlines adorning the holy knight's armor were pale silver streaks, and what had once been pure white plate mail was dull grey.

All this told her one thing. Whoever it was that now stood before her, it was not Gallantmon.

Swallowing, she forced her voice work once more and again called out to him.

"Rika needs help," she said evenly, hoping and even in the back of her mind praying that the name would register with him if her voice didn't.

What felt like an eternity passed before the grey knight tossed its quarry off to the side as he turned to face her.

"**Is she ok?"** he asked moving towards where she and her tamer were at a leisurely pace.

"_Good, Takato is still the dominate mind, but for how long?"_ Not wanting to press her luck, Renamon nodded.

"Yes, but she is very-"

"Much dead! Spiking Strike!"

Renamon tried to shield Rika with her body as she saw the attack come. Then, almost in slow motion she saw a dark grey lance sprout from the knights arm as he swung it into the attacking digimon's flight path too quickly for him to evade.

The moment the insect digimon burst into data, the knight once again began moved towards her and Rika before coming to a stop beside them and dropping to its knees.

"_The Hazard insignia…it's gone!"_

Before she could make anymore observations, the wings and tail vanished into thin air just as the armored Mega was enveloped in a cloud of red and black data, leaving behind a familiar teenage boy and red dinosaur digimon in its place.

_Flashback end_

* * *

"_All this time…I had suspected it when he first digivolved to fight Belzemon…but never would I have imagined it really was him."_

Looking down at her left forearm, Renamon resisted the growing urge to scratch it and looked back up into the night sky.

"_It's been nineteen years since that day…I thought for sure that he had died…but if it really is him…"_

Shaking her head, Renamon pushed the thought away. There was no use in pondering over something that she had no control over.

"_It would be fitting I suppose. He never gave up…just like Takato now."_

Letting her smile spread, Renamon allowed her tail to swish contently as she and her tamer continued their way home.

* * *

End chapter nine

AN: Well, I know all that did was leave more questions, but yes I did that on purpose. I'm not going to say what's going on other than there is something special about Guilmon. Bonus points to whoever can figure out what happened during the fight with the last Stingmon! I might just be able to whip up a sneak preview of my big fic in the works.

Lastly, if Takato and Rika seem a bit ooc in this chapter compared to the last few it's because as I said this one takes place three weeks after chapter eight, and some things happened between now and then. Look for the special insert mini story 'Will You?' to be out soon!

In the mean time, what did you think of this chapter? Love it? Hate it? Confused? Let me know, your reviews help keep me improve my writing and keep me going…and trust me guys, I kinda need them… Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you'll come back for the next one. Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story, it's been a lot of fun for me an I hope it has for you guys as well.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	10. Promise: Preview

Promise: Preview

AN: Well, here it is, the promised sneak peek of my big fic in the works. It's going to take some more time before everything is ready for it though. I have at least four more chapters of 'Four Years Through Our Eyes' that I want to write (and need to for the big fic to make sense) and two mini fics. I also like to prewrite chapters in case I fall behind my deadline so I'll still have something to post. Mind you the story is not written yet but it is mapped out. These are just a few scenes I pulled out from the map and fleshed out. They may or may not be used and are subject to change. In the meantime, enjoy! I chose to use Alice as the narrator (so you can imagine it) because she has such a great voice for it (the English dubbing of her was very well done). Also if interested, this was written while I was listening to: Blurry by Puddle of Mud, so you can look it up if you want to setup a better mood for it I guess, I used the extended version BTW (it's about five minutes long lol)

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

* * *

**Four years have passed since the defeat of the digital entity known as the D-Reaper, four years of change and constancy.**

* * *

Rumiko smirked as she watched the two teens before her fighting and arguing over the last stick of dango.

"I paid for them, so I should get it!" Takato growled as he held Rika's hand back from reaching its intended goal.

"Well I'm your girlfriend so I should get it!" she countered.

"_Ah young love, must be nice to be completely oblivious to everything going on around you,"_ Rumiko thought as she quickly took several snapshots of the two with her cell phone's camera.

* * *

**But four years of change and four years of battle…**

* * *

"What on earth…?"

"Something up Riley?" Tally asked looking over to her fellow tech, concerned by her tone.

"Yeah, but…I'm not sure what it is, it's almost like…"

Both of the technicians nearly fell from their chairs when the room's soft dim lights suddenly shifted to flashing bright red. The sudden shift in lighting was immediately followed by a blaring alarm and warnings flashing on the control rooms monitors.

"Tally, Riley, I want a sitrep now!" Yamaki shouted as he ran through the control room's entrance.

* * *

**Was only the beginning.**

* * *

"**Ryo! Behind you!"** Takato shouted knowing that Ryo couldn't see the attacking coming from behind.

"**What the, where did that come fro-"**

"**GUAAGHHHAAA!!!**

* * *

**Decade old mysteries return to the present.**

* * *

"Henry…help…" the voice pleaded so softly it might as well have been a whisper.

"Wait, who are you, where are you?!"

"I don't…have much time…Henry, I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

"Wait! Sorry for what?! Come back!"

* * *

**Old allies return**

* * *

"Aw man, please don't tell me we've got to fight this guy too!" Ryo groaned.

"Relax _your majesty,_ he's on our side," Rika shot back dryly.

"**It is good that you have returned,"** Omnimon stated as his gaze shifted from Ryo back to Takato.

"Man you have no idea how glad we are to see you," Takato said with a tired grin.

The large digimon crossed his arms as he looked down at the five humans before shaking his head.

"**Not as glad as I am to see you."**

His frankness and the weight of his voice caught even Rika off guard.

* * *

**New friends are made**

* * *

"So, I'm Takato, that's Rika, Jeri, Henry and Ry-" the gold armored digimon stopped him with a dismissive wave.

"I know who you are; I was briefed quite some time ago about you and your group."

"Really? Wow, that's a bummer, so you're…uh?"

"I was also under the impression that you would already know my name," he replied with a snort.

"Hey back off! He was trying to be polite! You could learn a thing or two from him!" Rika snapped.

"I doubt there is _anything_ I can learn for the lot of you," Magnamon shot back.

"I can teach you how to beg for mercy," Rika growled, not liking how condescending his tone was.

"Any time any place kid," he returned without missing a breath.

Though the lower half of his face was hidden by his helmets faceplate, Rika just knew that he was smirking at her.

"Oh that is IT, you're going down, Renamon!"

Pulling her D-arc to her chest, she was surprised when a strong hand caught her by the wrist preventing her from slamming it into her.

"Rika, he's on our side remember, we _need_ him," Takato pleaded.

Glancing over her friends shoulder, she growled when she saw the gold clad digimon draw a vertical line in the air behind Takato with one finger.

'One point to me.'

Snorting, she pulled her hand free and walked away muttering promises of pain for the as of now 'lucky to be living' digimon.

* * *

**And forgotten secrets are revealed**

* * *

"Something wrong Rika?"

Flinching, she lowered her D-Arc before turning to face him.

"No I'm fine, just a little…tired. I don't know how much longer I can last like this," she replied wearily.

Seeing her friend close his eyes in thought, she remembered just who it was she was talking to and cringed.

"Alright, but if you need anything just let me know alright?" he asked worriedly.

Replying with a simple nod, she waited until he was gone before pulling back out her D-Arc.

"_What is going on with this thing?"_ she thought as she watched the red glowing insignia continue to pulse and flicker back and forth to a silver X.

* * *

**But will these be enough to help them survive…**

* * *

"Takato! I think you should see this!" Henry called out over his shoulder.

"What? It can't be all that ba…oh no…"

* * *

**An all out war?**

* * *

"I want the entire city evacuated, NOW!" Yamaki shouted into his cell as he and Riley shoved their way through the masses of now panicking civilians.

"Sir, do you actually have a plan to fight th-" Riley was cut off by the older mans glare.

"Right, stupid question, you plan for everything," Riley muttered before adding "Guess it pays off to be paranoid every now and then huh?"

"I'm not paranoid, I'm just prefer to be prepared for anything that might arise," he corrected her with a wiry grin as he pocketed his phone.

* * *

**New powers**

* * *

"I won't let you hurt her anymore!"

Sparks and flickers of flame began spreading across the pulsating red aura until it completely engulfed him.

"**She has served her purpose, her existence is no longer of any importance,"** his now smirking opponent cooed before tossing its captive to his feet.

"You're going to pay for this…**I swear it!" **Kazu shouted before slamming his free hand onto his now red and black D-Arc.

* * *

**A new Tamer**

* * *

"You honestly didn't think you were the first did you?" she asked skeptically.

Takato scratched the back of his head nervously as he watched the conversation continue.

"Well, to be completely honest, yeah, I did. I had been one for almost a year before any of the others started showing up, and I never saw or heard of anyone else while I was stuck here with Cyberdramon," Ryo replied as he studied the person before him.

"I've been a tamer for five years now, and you can't be any older than, what? Fifteen? so there is no way you could have been one for longer than me."

To his surprise, the girl smirked.

"Really? That's interesting, because I've been a tamer for almost nine years, so I guess that makes me the first after all."

* * *

**New Alliances**

* * *

"**So, you must be the human Yamaki,"** the large digimon stated as it lowered its face to the group of stunned humans.

The man nodded with a lazy grin as he removed his trademark black shades.

"And unless I'm mistaken, you must be Zhuqiaomon, the digimon Sovereign of the East," Yamaki replied coolly.

* * *

**And a new form of digivolution**

* * *

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?!" Takato called out from the entrance.

Rika looked up with a scowl.

"About as well as you did the first time you Biomerged with Guilmon, but it's the only chance we've got!"

Tapping the bottom button on her D-Arc, Rika bit her lip as the bright red insignia flashed across the screen before beginning to spin.

"Rika, are you sure that this is what you want?" Renamon asked one last time.

Closing her eyes for only a moment, the young red head looked back to her partner with a sad smile.

"If it means protecting him, then yes, the risk is worth it," she whispered.

A series of beeps brought her attention back to her D-Arc before its silver body shifted to a dark purpleish red while the light blue ring shifted to pure black.

"Let's do it Renamon."

* * *

**Epic battles**

* * *

"**Magido flame!"** The dragon digimon roared as crimson and black flames spewed from its jaws deleting everything caught in its wake.

"Come on Guilmon! We're almost there!" Takato shouted as he clung to his partners back for dear life.

* * *

**Unexpected enemies**

* * *

"**Gargo Barrage!"** MegaGargomon screamed as he fired every missile he had left, silently praying that at least one of them would connect.

"**Gale Claw!"**

* * *

**And an ancient legend is reborn**

* * *

"But grandma, none of that's true is it?" Rika asked with a defiant look on her face.

Smiling warmly at the five year old in her lap, Seiko shrugged her shoulders.

"There's no real way to know is there? The story is very old dear, so it could be just an old tale, or it could be true. Either way the legend is well over a thousand years old."

Stopping to think for a minute, Rika asked the question that had always bothered her every time her grandmother had told her the story.

"Is…it…still true?" she asked, hoping that she wasn't looking every bit the anxious hopeful little kid.

Seiko again smilled at her granddaughter.

"If the legend is true, then yes. His decedents will always be protected by those who carry Inari's blessing and mark."

_Flashback end_

Unable to speak, Rika felt herself trembling as the glow of blue and gold light faded into nothingness.

"**I told you, you're fight is with me!"** the gold and white armored figure growled as it pulled the large triangular shield out from the concrete floor with ease.

"_I…no…it can't be,"_ Rika thought as she swallowed. She had always listened to her grandmother's stories when she was little, but only out of respect. Never in her wildest dreams did she think any of them could actually come true. But as she looked over the two that had stood before her, and the third who now joined them she was forced to reconsider that opinion.

* * *

Coming soon!

Final Wish, The Oath of Ages

* * *

OHH yeah, I'm evil I'm evil I know it lol. Hope you enjoyed the 'commercial' please rest assured that I don't use OC's EVER unless I have no other option when it comes to my Digimon fics, but I am happy to say that there will be **none** of any importance in this fic. Also, while these scenes are from my favorites that have been mapped out, they are far from being the 'absolute best' I have those safely tucked away to surprise you guys/girls with for the main event.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


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